Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the clarification on the listing of courses. The people I have spoken to misunderstood or perhaps were overly impressed with that listing. Nonetheless, in her response, the Minister outlines the need for full adherence to immigration regulations and law, and we all agree on that. I detected a heavier emphasis on that than on the students who have been the casualty of this unmitigated mess. One Venezuelan man, who is 23 years old, was in Leinster College and he lost €1,000 when it closed. Due to the terms of his visa, he could stay here for six months and he enrolled at the Modern Educational Centre on Harcourt Street, paid his fees at the end of February this year and attended fewer than four weeks of class before that college closed. He has been told now that in order to stay, he must enrol again with a third college. It is a complete mess and a catastrophe for this young man.

We speak much about reputational damage when we debate other issues but this is extremely damaging not just to the sector but more generally as well. Nobody would advocate playing fast and loose with the immigration system - far from it - but there must be some kind of response for the students like this young man from Venezuela, who came here in good faith. He has been ripped off and let down while here.

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