Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 April 2024
316. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the process by which a person can have their professional qualification (details supplied) recognised by the NFQ in line with recognition of similar awards from 17 September 2007 to 6 November 2012, which are recognised by HETAC as equivalent to an award at level 9 on the framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17151/24]
View answerQuality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is the statutory body with responsibility for developing, promoting and maintaining the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
In line with the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012, the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) currently recognises the qualifications of Irish awarding bodies including Universities, Institutes of Technology, Technological Universities, QQI and the State Examination Commission. Following the enactment of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Act 2019, QQI’s powers in this regard will be expanded to broaden the number and types of qualifications that can be included in the NFQ. This amending legislation, when commenced later this year, will empower QQI to establish an application process whereby other awarding bodies, including international and professional awarding bodies, may choose to apply to QQI to have their qualifications, such as those in question, included in the Framework.
Currently, NARIC Ireland, hosted by QQI, provides recognition advice on foreign and international academic qualifications. This service provides comparability statements for a substantial number of qualifications from a wide range of countries aimed at assisting understanding of these qualifications in the context of the Irish education and training system. In addition to assisting the qualification holder, these statements can also help employers, funding agencies and education and training institutions to determine if an applicant holds the academic qualifications for a particular job, funding or course. These statements are available to download free of charge from its website at www.naric.ie.
