Mr. Lorcan O'Connor Lloyd:

I thank the committee for inviting Marketing English in Ireland, MEI, to take part in today’s session. I am pleased to be joined by Mauro Biondi, chair of the MEI board of directors and Aidan O’Shea, MEI director. We are very happy to have the opportunity to discuss the challenges relating to regulation and oversight of the English language education, ELE, sector and to highlight the many positive developments in the ELE industry in Ireland. In a highly competitive global marketplace, Ireland has earned a reputation as a premium, internationally respected, language learning destination. In 2023, the total number of students attending programmes at MEI schools was 128,397. Just over half of the total student population are junior students, which is students under the age of 18 attending summer camp programmes or school group educational tours. The remaining students are adult students on a variety of short- and long-term programmes, including general English, exam preparation, business English, teacher training and Erasmus+ funded courses. There is a diverse nationality mix at MEI member schools with more than 100 different countries represented. Last year 70% of our students came from the EU-EEA region and 30% came from non-EU-EEA countries.

According to the international education strategy review commissioned by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and published by Indecon in 2020, the ELE sector contributes more than €1 billion per year to the Irish economy.

MEI member schools, the majority of which are Irish founded and owed SMEs, employ 3,000 teachers and support staff during peak summer months, and 2,000 teachers and staff year-round. Given that English language schools operate from every county in Ireland, with many local tourism and hospitality businesses being supported by the sector, the economic benefits are distributed widely across the island of Ireland.

The ELE sector acts as a gateway for international students aspiring to pursue higher education in Ireland. Through immersive language programmes, students refine their English skills and gain insights into Irish society and academic opportunities. Many ELE providers offer tailored programmes and preparation courses for tertiary education and foster a seamless transition. By collaborating closely with Enterprise Ireland through the education in Ireland brand, the sector facilitates academic mobility and cultural exchange, enriching the educational landscape.

Quality assurance and the student experience are central to MEI’s objectives as an association. Historically, our members have engaged with the voluntary recognition scheme run by the Accreditation and Coordination of English Language Services, ACELS. Following several legal challenges regarding its validity as a statutory instrument, the ACELS accreditation scheme has remained closed to new applicants for more than a decade. ACELS is seen very much as a legacy function of Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI. The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 allows for the establishment of a new international education mark that will govern the ELE sector. In the interim, for the purposes of study visa controls the Department of Justice established in 2015 an interim list of eligible providers, ILEP.

In lieu of an active inspection and accreditation scheme, ELE providers have sought out validation from accreditation bodies and inspectors outside of Ireland, most notably through the Eaquals accreditation scheme for the evaluation and accreditation of quality language services, which is seen as the gold standard in language education. Eaquals accredited providers go through a comprehensive and rigorous quality assurance process, including an on-site inspection and a commitment to continuous improvement. There are only 125 Eaquals-approved providers worldwide and 22 of them are based in Ireland.

MEI has taken an active approach in promoting quality standards and student protections in the sector. The association is the umbrella body assigned to process Garda vetting applications for host families, teachers and junior school staff. We process more than 10,000 vetting applications per year. We also facilitate Children First child protection training for member and non-member institutions. MEI has operated a protection of the enrolled learner bonding scheme from 2012 to 2022 as a condition of membership, in which members agreed to accept students in the event of the closure of a fellow school. In July 2022 we launched an exclusive paid insurance scheme for our members through study and protect insurance, and it became a compulsory obligation of each member school to implement the study and protect insurance scheme for the protection of enrolled learners, PEL, or a product of similar or greater standard.

In the last 12 months, MEI has been engaged in a joint labour committee with SIPTU and Unite union representatives to review work and pay conditions for ELE staff. We look forward to continued discussions on protections for employees working in the sector.

Our members eagerly anticipate the initiation of the IEM process. As a network of educators we have long advocated for a more robust regulatory framework for the ELE sector. Through our quality assurance committee, MEI has been in consultation with QQI on international education mark, IEM, policy documents. MEI has also delivered a series of IEM-focused training sessions to support our members to prepare for the implementation of IEM regulations. We are encouraged by the progress made to date and will continue to support our members through the application and inspection process. We very much look forward to the launch of a high-quality internationally recognised accreditation mark. MEI member schools are committed to providing exceptional education experiences and look forward to continuing to contribute to the growth and success of Ireland’s international education sector.