Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I was outside Grafton College the night before last. The teachers who were gathered there were absolutely distraught, shocked and bewildered at what had happened. Without notice, the college closed. With Christmas coming, the jobs have been lost and the weeks of wages owed to the staff are not forthcoming, which is completely unacceptable.

The Government should take this issue very seriously because, proportionately, Ireland is the main destination for foreign English language students. Approximately 122,000 students of English as a foreign language come here. It is a big industry. In 2015 there were a number of collapses of schools that had not been properly regulated and that did not have proper protections for students. Some protections for students were put in place but none at all for teachers. The teachers are highly qualified and have been left absolutely high and dry. They are asking the Minister to meet them. Some of them are visiting the Seanad. Today or in the next day or two, the Minister should meet talk to them. I know one of the teachers personally. This is the third time this has happened in his career teaching English as a foreign language. He was just left high and dry by one rogue employer after another.

Marketing English in Ireland needs to make a statement on this issue. It needs to state what it intends to do in order to address this problem and ensure it will not recur. We need to know whether the Government will support the amendments suggested by Unite the Union, effectively on behalf of English foreign language teachers, that would give some protection to teachers in the circumstances. To cut a long story short, there is a fund that gives some protection to students. It needs to be expanded to give protection to teachers in order they will not lose their wages if a company disappears in a puff of smoke.

We need proper regulation of this industry to prevent rogue employers behaving like this because it keeps happening. There are very serious questions as to what was going on financially in this company. The signs in this regard are certainly not good because there is not enough regulation of the sector or protection for teachers.

It would be good if the Minister could respond to the following questions. Will he meet the representatives of the teachers? Will he agree to support the amendments that are now before the Seanad and which, it is hoped, will come before the Dáil? Will he get Marketing English in Ireland to make a statement as to what it intends to do about this? Will he ensure that proper protection for teachers is put in place in order that teachers do not lose their earnings in cases such as this?

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