The Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 was passed in October 2012 and extends independent oversight by the Office of the Ombudsman to over 180 additional public agencies, including Co. Roscommon VEC.  From 1^st May 2013, the Office of the Ombudsman will be empowered to examine complaints arising from any action taken by the VECs in the performance of administrative functions.  The Ombudsman will only deal with a complaint after it has first been dealt with through the internal complaints system of the VEC.

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES/OMBUDSMAN.

Co. Roscommon  VEC is committed to providing you with a high quality service.  We will endeavour to maintain and improve the standard of our services and to keep errors to a minimum.  However, we recognise that mistakes or delays will occasionally occur.

If you are not satisfied with our services, you should let us know so that we can work to improve them.  We welcome your feedback and will deal with your complaints in confidence.   A complaint in relation to the quality of service provided by County Roscommon VEC can be made in person , by telephone, by fax, in writing or e-mail.  The complaint will then be brought to the attention of our staff in the department/centre concerned.  The staff there will try to resolve your complaint without delay.  If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaints procedure you may request an examination of your complaint by the Office of the  Ombudsman.

Contact Details:

Office of the Ombudsman,

18 Lower Leeson Street,

Dublin 2.

Phone: 01 6395600.  Fax:  01 6395674.   Web:  www.ombudsman.ie

It has been announced by the Minister for Education & Skills, Mr. Ruairi Quinn, T.D., that implementation of Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 will commence on the 1^st November, 2013.  From this date, teachers employed in State-funded teaching positions in recognised schools will have to be registered with the Teaching Council in order to be paid from State funds.

Information can be accessed from the following websites

www.cns.ie

www.communitynationalschools.ie

www.communitynationalschools.com

As Chief Executive, I am delighted to inform you that today (6th November 2012) the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., announced the formal establishment of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the amalgamated qualifications and quality assurance authority.

QQI replaces the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), the Further Education and Training Awards Council of Ireland (FETAC), and the Higher Education Training and Awards Council (HETAC). It will also take over functions of the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB).

In his announcement, Minister Quinn said that “the establishment of the QQI represents the fulfilment of a commitment in the Programme for Government and is part of the Government’s overall programme of rationalisation of state bodies.”

The Minister announced that the Chairperson of QQI will be Gordon Clark. Mr. Clark was previously the Head of Unit in the European Commission with responsibility for the development of the EU’s lifelong learning policy. He is a trained accountant and has also previously worked in the EU Court of Auditors.

In his statement, the Minister thanked the staff of the four agencies for their contribution in bringing coherence and consistency to Irish qualifications, in developing awards standards, in providing quality assurance to educational providers and programmes, and in facilitating progression opportunities for learners.

QQI is committed to the maintenance and further development of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and to assuring and supporting improvement in providers’ quality assurance systems.  Over the next year, we will continue the integration and further development of QQI’s qualifications and quality assurance services. It is also important to stress that the qualifications formerly awarded by FETAC and HETAC will continue to be recognised.

QQI fully supports the Irish government’s public service reform agenda and intends placing customer service at the core of everything that we do; to leading, organising and working in new ways; to maximising new and innovative service delivery channels; and to operating in a cost efficient way with a strong focus on implementation and delivery.

Dr. Padraig Walsh
Chief Executive

At this time there are a selection of programme descriptors and component descriptors available, which have been approved by CETA, as newly approved descriptors are made available to us, they will be posted.

 As you know, the Referendum on the Fiscal Treaty will be held on May 31^st. While the VEC is non-partisan and non-political, we would like to encourage you to learn about the Treaty and exercise your right to vote. You can find more information about the Referendum on the Referendum Commission’s website