Fórsa has cautiously welcomed the recent announcement by Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion, Jospeha Madigan TD that there is an agreement to accredit the National Training Programme for SNAs as delivered by UCD in the coming weeks.

While the minister’s official acknowledgment is welcome, the union has raised concern about the lack of details on the process and the level of accreditation to be awarded.

Fórsa’s head of education, Andy Pike, said this marked a significant development and the union welcomed the minister’s comments.

“This is another win in Fórsa’s campaign to increase the minimum essential qualifications for SNAs, and improve the overall terms and conditions of employment for thousands of SNAs around the country,” said Andy.

Fórsa said UCD’s own internal assessment recommends the course meets the standard of a Fetac QQI Level 7 Certificate on the National Framework of Qualifications.

The union said it backed the idea as UCD was best placed to determine the level of accreditation the course warrants as it is within their area of specialist expertise to do so.

Fórsa said it will push for an independent expert review to be carried out on the level of accreditation to be awarded, if the Department’s view differs from that of UCD.

The independent review would then be carried out by specialists in the field who have the appropriate professional skills and competencies to make a fair and balanced determination as to the level they believe the course should be accredited at.