Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I thank our guests for being here.

Reading their statements was interesting. Some 150,000 students have come to Ireland for this and it is worth €2.38 billion to the economy. The witnesses are right, though, as Ireland's reputation as a provider of a good experience, including a good educational experience, is also important. I hope that the IEM scheme will be significant, given previous negative experiences. There are some concerns about it, but it will be important to the sector. Do Mr. O'Shea, Mr. Biondi and Mr. O'Connor Lloyd feel that many of their organisation's members will apply for the mark? If not, why would that be the case? It is better for Ireland's reputation as a provider of such education that everyone sign up to it.

I am interested in knowing how MEI co-ordinates with Departments and State agencies, particularly on visas and so on. Ms Harmon raised the point about fees not being returned to students because they could not get visas. That is a concern. The representatives from MEI might reply before I turn to Ms Harmon.