Mr. Aidan O'Shea:

In light of the way the IEM is looking as regards timetables at present, it does not seem that is going to change. It looks like it will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, work rights will remain as they are and it will continue to the an eight-month as opposed to, as was previously the case, a 12-month visa. Reducing the period of the visa from 12 months to eight was something we fought against because we are up against other English-language-speaking countries such as Canada, the US, the UK, etc., which offer 12-month visas. If this change could be rowed back on, we would certainly welcome it because it would give ourselves and the students more flexibility with timetables.