Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. An increasingly globalised world economy and outlook must be reflected in our education institutions and I welcome the objectives of this Bill in terms of paving the way for more international students to study in Ireland.

More Irish students should have an opportunity to study abroad and we should encourage more international students to come to Ireland to study at our third-level institutions. Preventing the creation of league tables is also worthwhile. The focus of such tables is much too narrow and does not reflect the real role of educators, which is to stimulate, challenge and open students to a world of possibilities, rather than simply focus on exam results or the proportion of students from a particular school attending university. Increasingly, our third-level education campuses are reflecting the globalised nature of our world and far too often in Ireland our focus is within the parameters of this State rather than on Ireland's place in a globalised world.

Currently, about 32,000 international students study in Ireland, thanks in part to intensive campaigns run by our universities all across the world. However, this figure could be greatly expanded in coming years. When one thinks that 4.3 million students are studying outside their country of birth, almost half of whom are studying in Europe, the figure of 32,000 looks meagre. Ireland is attractive to many international students because their studies are conducted through English. I have some concerns in relation to increasing the number of international students. These concerns relate to the integration and support of these students. Many students who come to Ireland from the US are on an intensive study programme which sees their weekends filled with trips to other European cities. This often creates a barrier in terms of them getting to know their fellow students. Likewise, students from countries such as China often have little contact with Irish students, to the detriment of both parties.

Sending a student abroad to study represents a very significant outlay for parents, whatever country they reside in. This in turn often places huge pressure on students to achieve and excel. We owe greater levels of support to these students and their parents during their time in Ireland, be that through mentoring, educational supports, counselling or chaplaincy services. I would like to see more emphasis on ensuring that international students who study in Ireland get a real appreciation of Irish life and culture and are more integrated into the student body at whatever institution they are studying.

Given the intention of increasing the number of international students coming to Ireland, I am not in favour of increasing fees for international students. This is a recommendation of the recent review of higher education. Instead of focusing on the revenue, we should be focusing on the experience of these students and examining how it compares to other countries. Many of these international students will go on to become leaders in various fields. We should be ensuring that their time in Ireland is enjoyable, educational and helps them develop as a person. In the long term, this will bear better fruit for Ireland than simply endeavouring to squeeze more money from their hard-pressed parents from whatever country they originate.

International students spend €1 billion in the Irish economy. Some 70% of this relates to international students and the remainder to English language students. We should focus on growing the number of international students through enhancing their experience in Ireland and building bridges with faculties and universities across the globe. One fifth of these international students are PhD students, which is above international norms, and greater emphasis should be placed on supporting these students and building relationships with them. Many of them will in turn go on to become university staff and decision makers as their careers progress. Alternatively, they will become developers of next-generation technologies or pharmaceutical advances. Ireland will have much to learn from their research.

China provides the largest cohort of international students at postgraduate level. We need to look in a more coherent way at marketing Ireland to Chinese students and their parents. Often the arrival of Chinese students results from intensive work by a particular institute of technology or university. While this is commendable, perhaps more can be done at a national level to prepare the groundwork in terms of making Ireland an attractive venue for Chinese students.

Particular emphasis must be placed on building relationships with universities in the United States. Ireland is one of the top ten destinations for US students studying broad. Given the strong historical links between the two countries, this is something that can be expanded upon.

Ireland has much to offer international students and much to learn from them. We should learn more about how the experience of studying in Ireland compares to other destinations for international students and aim to enhance their experience. Rather than making it a more expensive experience, we should be making it a more enriching experience. It is through enhanced experience and better learning outcomes for students that the number of international students studying in Ireland will continue to grow.

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