Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Byrne asked when the legislation would be completed. Hopefully, that will happen by the middle of March. Deputy McLoughlin asked what protections are in place for parents and students. He also spoke about certainty for students who want to study in Coleraine or some other institutions in Northern Ireland.

The job we are trying to do here is very specific. We are trying to minimise disruption and in doing so we are ensuring that disruption to any movement thus far, be it in preschool or at primary, secondary or third level, is minimised. We also want to build on the contribution education has made to the movement and mobility of people through the Good Friday Agreement. That is the space in which we find ourselves.

Deputies spoke about fees. We have moved to ensure that the contribution of €3,000 for students from the North who want to come south is in place for September and for the duration of their course, whether it is a three-year, five-year or six-year degree. While this is ongoing - to go back to Deputy Byrne who feels his question was not answered - discussions on an overall agreement continue. This will involve the common travel area and trying to come up with an agreement. Going back to Deputy Byrne again, any future fees in the 2021-22 or 2023-24 years will be decided in the context of that agreement. While this is all ongoing, the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, is in discussions, as are my officials and I, with the Department for Education in the United Kingdom on getting certain principles agreed surrounding the protection of education in the context of the Good Friday Agreement, North-South and east-west. I am not in a position to say what will happen after the end of March, but our job and duty as legislators is to ensure we do everything to minimise that disruption.

To respond to Senator Gallagher's question about what we are doing to ensure we attract more international students, we are examining this issue and engaging comprehensively with our EU counterparts. We are part of the European Union. Someone from Boston has no problem travelling to California or elsewhere on the west coast of America to study. Irish students are now going to Bulgaria, France, the Netherlands and Italy. If we can have a reciprocal arrangement, our doors are open. To give the committee another example, by 2021 we will have lifted the derogation on the Irish language in the European Union, after which time an Irish student with three languages - English, Irish and French, English, Irish and German or English, Irish and Italian, for example - will be able to apply for interpreter and translator jobs. If the UK is not in the European Union, that will obviously give us an added advantage.