Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 December 2021
222. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Baccalauréat Professionnel level 4 on the European Qualifications Framework is recognised as fulfilling the need for a Green Certificate level 5 Quality and Qualifications Ireland in relation to requirements to participate in departmental schemes; the reason for such; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59287/21]
View answerCurrently persons are required to hold the minimum of a Level 6 award in agriculture, horticulture, forestry or equine in order to meet Young Trained Farmer (YTF) educational requirements.
The approved qualifications are listed in Revenue Schedule 2B SCDA 1999. In addition to these qualifications, Teagasc may certify other qualifications as corresponding to a Schedule 2B qualification. When reviewing qualifications in terms of equivalence to the Green Cert, Level 6 award, Teagasc assess awards under two criteria:
Comparable level on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ)
Content/ syllabus (using course and module descriptors)
To compare ‘international’ qualifications to the NFQ, Teagasc refer to NARIC Ireland foreign qualifications database, which is maintained by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the national agency for the development, recognition and awarding of qualifications in Ireland.
In this specific case, NARIC shows the Diplome Baccalaureat Professionnel qualification comparable to Leaving Certificate across Level 4/5 on the NFQ. It is therefore, lower than the required Level 6 award for Young Trained Farmer status.
Teagasc education officers are available in every county to discuss training options to meet Young Trained Farmer requirements.
