Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 28 May 1998

Vol. 491 No. 5

Written Answers. - Higher Education Grants.

John Bruton

Ceist:

112 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will list the institutions that have applied for recognition by him or his predecessor as part of the list of approved institutions for the purposes of the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968-92 and which have been rejected; whether these institutions were rejected on the grounds that their courses did not satisfy minimum standards, or on the basis of the overall availability of resources; the criteria used regarding minimum standards; and the consultations, if any, undertaken with a view to establishing minimum standards in each case. [12543/98]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. Martin)

A number of private commercial third level institutions have requested recognition for the purposes of the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992. Among the colleges which have applied and have not been successful or are awaiting a response in relation to the 1998 scheme are The Holy Ghost College, Kimmage Manor, the Irish School of Ecumenics, the Institute of Education, Portobello, St. Nicholas Montessori College, Dún Laoghaire, Shannon College of Hotel Management, Dublin Business School, LSB College, MidWest Business Institute, Griffith College, Dublin, Skerry's Business College and HSI, Limerick.

As I have informed the House previously, my current priority for funding is to increase the places on publicly funded third level institutions.

In relation to the determination of minimum standards for recognition, my Department is guided, inter alia, by the following criteria:

(i) whether the institution has been subject to an institutional review by the NCEA, and the result of such a review;

(ii) whether the courses have been approved by the NCEA for the purposes of its awards;

(iii) whether the courses have been validated by other recognised third level institutions.

The National Council for Educational Awards have set down minimum requirements for recognition in relation to the overall availability of resources in an institution and the entry requirements and academic standards for the approval of courses for NCEA awards. These standards would be acceptable to the Department of Education and Science for the purpose of recognition for the higher education grants scheme if resources were available to extend the scheme to private colleges. However, consideration would also have to be given to other factors such as financial bonding and consumer protection.