Ms Laura Harmon:

It is really a lack of enforcement. The sector in general has not been prioritised over the years. A lot of prominence is often put on the higher education sector and perhaps more focus needs to be put on this sector with more monitoring and evaluation. If it is up to the schools alone, it would not be good practice to have self-evaluation. There is a need for an external piece and that is why we are calling for more exploration to look at that and to consider the option of, for example, an external ombudsman.

Having said that, there are many fantastic reasons why students come to Ireland to study English, including the culture and the quality of education. There are numerous reasons that we are a very popular destination, and rightly so. Our main concern in ICIS is to ensure that reputation is maintained.

A point was made about the risks for the sector, and accommodation is certainly one. There is overcrowding among students who are studying here and who must share rooms. That is very prevalent for the English-language students to whom we have spoken and surveyed in our annual surveys. There are also accommodation scams. We heard earlier from students about the limits on working hours when the cost of living is an enormous issue.

As I said, we addressed this committee ten years ago and many of the issues remain the same. There is a need for more oversight, regulation and monitoring. We have open dialogue with MEI and have met its representatives numerous times. It is important to say there is a relationship there and we would love to work further with MEI on this. I do not know if my colleague, Mr. Hearne, has anything to add in response to the Deputy's question.