From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
By: Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Simon Harris
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Chair and Committee Members,
I would like to thank you for this opportunity to update on key Brexit responses, which fall within scope of my department.
At the outset, I wish to say it is right that this committee continue to explore and examine these issues.
We are five months into post Brexit implementation and while it no longer occupies the media attention that it did in the run up to 31 December last year, it remains an ongoing focus of my department.
The Irish Government has always been very clear – there are no winners in Brexit.
But I can assure you that we have been determined to do all we can to minimise its impact, not just for people living in Ireland, but for many people living in the North as well.
The actions and responses undertaken by my department have been very firmly informed by a determination to protect the rich tapestry of collaborations between further and higher education institutions, North and South.
I now will address the four specific topics raised by the Committee.
The first is recognition of professional qualifications. I would like to place this process in context for committee members. Prior to Ireland and the UK joining the EU, there was mobility of professions.
We can all recall many qualified Irish doctors and nurses heading over to the UK to work in the NHS, based on qualifications.
Over time, the EU developed a series of directives, designed to support one of its key freedoms – freedom of movement. One of these Directives dealt with Professional Qualifications such as doctors, nurses, physiotherapist, architects and veterinary surgeons.
As these professions moved from one Member State to another, it ensured that their qualifications as listed in this Directive were recognised, which facilitated labour mobility and the provision of service.
That last point – provision of service – is very important as it brings the EU single market into play, and the EU Commission has sole competence in this area. In parallel, the number and type of professions increased.
Essentially, where there is a regulation to determine entry for any profession or trade, these also fell within scope of EU Directives. For example, Ireland has regulated entry into the security industry, which limits any person working as a security guard. You must have a QQI Level 4 qualification, amongst other things.
This trend has resulted in some 190 professions in Ireland, regulated by 44 competent authorities or regulators.
Clearly, the departure of the UK from the EU meant that this Directive no longer applies. This is particularly challenging for Ireland – you only have to think about mobility of teachers and medical professionals who routinely have been working on either side of the border over the past number of years.
Furthermore, this impact also must be reconciled with the Common Travel Area, where Ireland and the UK sought to protect mobility of citizens between both jurisdictions.
In common with many actions, back in 2018, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs engaged with the EU Commission to see how mutual recognition of professional qualifications between Ireland and the UK could be reconciled within the EU Single Market.
The Commission’s view was that the Irish and UK Governments could only conclude a bi-lateral Intergovernmental Agreement if Ireland secured a derogation from the EU Commission.
While this remains an option, the process to secure a derogation in the midst of EU-UK negotiations would take too long, and would divert diplomatic resources from other priorities such as the NI Protocol.
The next best option was to pursue any arrangement based on Irish and UK regulators engaging with each other to agree processes for the continued recognition of professional qualifications.
In late, 2019, an Interdepartmental Working Group, chaired by an official from my department, coordinated this work, and relevant departments – eight in all- were asked to ensure each of their regulators put processes in place which would ensure that Irish and UK professions could continue to have their qualifications recognised.
This work was concluded, and Irish and UK regulators adopted varying approaches – some like the engineers put a Memorandum of Understanding in place, while others such as the Teaching Council and Medical Council adjusted their ‘third country qualification recognition’ policies.
At the same time, my department were working closely with their UK counterparts in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) to ensure that similar activity was being pursued by their regulators.
I am pleased to report that this relationship continues and since January of this year, there have been three bi-lateral meetings to ensure any glitches are addressed and resolved.
However, these administrative arrangements were not always possible for two reasons – the first required Irish legislative amendments such as recognition of the UK equivalent of the Construction Safepass certificate.
The second instance refers to situations where qualifications are part of wider EU Directives such as Airline industry or other international agreements such as the International Maritime Agreements. However, this only represents a small number of cases, and the outcome generally is that UK professions must undertake the required competency test in Ireland.
I am satisfied that Ireland and the UK has taken whatever steps it can to ensure that there is continued recognition of professional qualifications for its citizens.
It is also important to note that this is quite a distinct process from practicing your profession. Qualifications recognition is a step along the path to practice.
For example, to enable a UK citizen to teach in Ireland, he/she must have their UK qualification assessed and recognised, but also this must be accompanied with appropriate Garda/ Police clearances, as well as confirmation of good standing with the home competent authority.
Recognition of qualification in its own right does not guarantee the right to practice.
The publication of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement now provides the framework for a restoration of Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications. Essentially, it would require the consensus of all Member States, including on a sectoral basis, to agree the qualifications structures with the UK.
There are similar provisions in the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
Using that as a benchmark, it has taken five years so far, and work continues on this process for architects – there is no reason to see why similar timelines would also apply in the EU-UK TCA.
Therefore, the work of my department has positioned the task of continued recognition of professional qualifications very favourably.
Within the past few weeks, the other departments were asked to establish from their regulators whether any issues emerging at this stage – the response confirm that all was working well. Ireland has completed a process, while other Member States are only starting!
This does not mean my officials are complacent – they will remain engaged on this matter, including continuing contact with their counterparts in the UK.
As colleagues are aware, the Irish Government has decided that arrangements should be made to enable students of relevant institutions in Northern Ireland to have continued access to mobilities under the Erasmus+ higher education programme post Brexit.
While a number of options were presented to the Commission, it was finally agreed that this Government decision would be achieved by the temporary registration of NI Students with Irish HEIs.
During this period of registration, this would facilitate a NI student mobility in a HEI in another Member State that has an existing agreement with the NI HEI to which the student belongs.
Once the mobility was complete, the student would return to their parent HEI in NI, along with the required certification and other academic documentation. The NI HEI would recognise the period of study abroad as they would now under Erasmus +.
Officials of my department have been working with HEIs, North and South to put the structures in place to implement the Government’s decision for September 2021. Funding will not be required for this year as the institutions have unspent money.
It would also be timely to refer to the Turing scheme which is being introduced by the UK Government.
My officials have made it clear to the NI HEIs that there is no exclusivity in the Irish Government’s decision. Its objective is to offer an opportunity to NI students which they originally sought – should they decide to opt for a mobility under the Turing scheme, then that is their choice.
I want to make sure that should they wish to head to Paris or Munich under the Erasmus scheme, this option is also open to them.
Finally, I have acknowledged that I would like to have similar arrangements for further education students in NI.
My officials are working on this, and I hope to bring a Memo to Cabinet within the next few weeks, as well as engaging with the Commission on this.
I have also undertaken to keep Minister Dodds appraised of developments as the operational details are finalised.
On the issue of supports for students in the UK, you will recall that, in May 2019, the Irish and UK Governments signed an overarching Memorandum of Understanding on the CTA which committed to the maintenance of access to each other’s education systems on an ‘as is’ basis.
My department have been working with their counterparts in the UK to elaborate on this commitment by developing an MoU for the education sector.
The draft has been agreed between both jurisdictions, and my department is awaiting legal advice from the Attorney General’s Office. All going well, I hope to bring a Memo to Cabinet within the next few weeks.
As part of my department's Brexit preparations, an amendment to the SUSI scheme was incorporated into the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020, which would ensure that Irish students could still their SUSI grant to UK, should they choose to pursue their higher education studies there.
Equally, UK students would still maintain access to the SUSI scheme, should they wish to study in Ireland. This means that the 1,260 Irish students and 200 UK students eligible for SUSI supports can continue their studies without any financial interruption.
However, the CTA also afforded Irish students an additional protection. In 2020, the UK announced that EU students would be treated as International Students and as such, would be liable for higher fees. This does not apply to Irish students in accordance with the CTA. They will be charged on the same basis as a British student.
On the matter of mobility, I am glad that this issue has been raised, as it means a lot to me. When I was appointed, I looked forward to travelling to Northern Ireland and engaging with representatives from the further and higher education system there. COVID-19 and travel restrictions put that to bed!
For the 5 years from the 2013/ 2014 academic year, the number of students coming to Ireland from all devolved administrations in the UK has fallen from 2,113 to 2,030 in 2017/ 2018, which represents a fall of about 4%. The corresponding figure for Northern Ireland is 0.5% - there were 660 undergraduates in 2013/ 2014 compared with 657 in 2017/ 2018.
The small decline should not be preclude any review of these trends, and I have asked my officials to engage with the HEA and the higher education representative associations to explore reasons for these trends. I would certainly like to see mobility increase.
In bringing my contribution to an end, Brexit was never going to be easy – no matter what steps Ireland took to minimise the impact, the relationship between Ireland and the UK was and will continue to change.
My department has a particular responsibility to protect the further and higher education systems, but it doesn’t stop there. I also have responsibility for the research and innovation systems.
The longer I have spent in this department, I see very closely the linkages with the economies on a North-South and an East-West basis. The well-being, socially, professionally and personally of all on both islands will always be linked, and I am determined to play my part to ensure that all on the island of Ireland will continue to benefit from the rich and vibrant collaborations between our education and research systems.
I look forward to your questions and observations.
Thank you.