Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Of course international students are an important part of the dynamic within out third level sector. However, as with all areas there needs to be management of it and it seems to me there is none at the moment. The number of these stamp 2 residency permissions more than doubled between 2021 and 2024, with more than 60,000 of them granted.

Then there are anomalies in the system. According to the Economic and Social Research Institute's, ESRI's, most recent report on migration and asylum, 45% of first residency permits issued in 2023 were for education. It is the most common reason for issuing permits to non-EEA nationals while employment accounts for only 27%. When we consider Ireland has 1.25% of the EU's population but allocates 7.15% of all permits for education purposes in the EU, we can be seen how there are anomalies there. The question is: does Government take cognisance of the student accommodation crisis when allocating these visas as to whether or not it will impact on that crisis?

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