Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am sure the Minister for Education and Skills is well aware of the position on English language schools which is an ongoing issue. In May last year I remember asking her predecessor, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to appear before the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection to discuss it. To date, 14 English language schools in Dublin alone have closed their doors, placing a huge financial burden on the students involved. The most recent case involves the International Education Academy and it is estimated that the students will lose in the region of €2,000 each. They include 100 prospective students who have registered and paid their fees but who will not be able to start their courses as the college is set to close.

The Minister has proposed a three pillar solution. A task force was established and one of its recommendations was that an accommodatin scheme be put in place to enable students to transfer to other colleges, including private colleges, to complete their courses at a discounted rate. This shows a lack of understanding by the Department in dealing with such students, many of whom are living in poverty and do not have the money to switch courses, even at a discounted rate. Some students have given evidence to the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection. The matter needs to be resolved and I will propose some solutions in my supplementary contribution.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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There seems to be no end to this saga which has unfolded before our eyes. This morning a creditors meeting was held in the case involving the National College of Business Administration, NCBA. Astonishingly, it was revealed that the college had €5,000 in assets and €300,000 in debts at the time of its closure, this despite the fact that students had paid thousands of euro in fees in the days and weeks prior to its closure.

The students have been the main focus in this saga, but teachers and other staff have also been left out of pocket. Students chose and trusted the schools in question because they were included in the lists approved by the State. They had paid their fees, travelled to Ireland and kept their part of the deal. However, they arrived to find a sector which was entirely unregulated. When a school goes out of business, students find that, in effect, the State washes its hands of them. One student described the State's response in revealing terms, that it was like being surrounded by stone walls. Will the Government pursue this matter on behalf of the students involved? When will we see proper regulation of the sector? What protections can we expect to see in the regulations? What efforts will be made to recoup the moneys due to students, teachers and other creditors? Teaching and administrative staff in many of these schools are immensely fearful that there will be more closures.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank both Deputies for raising this issue and share their concern for the students affected by the closures. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien has said 14 such schools have closed, but according to my figures, there have been 16 confirmed private English language school closures since April 2014 and approximately 5,000, mainly non-EEA, students have been affected. There was a disturbing level of immigration abuse in this sector and it is clear that a number of institutions were operating a business model that was based on little more than facilitating the economic migration of those seeking to come and work in Ireland.

The first priority of my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality in response was to find reasonable accommodation for genuinely affected students. A task force was established to co-ordinate efforts to ensure the provision of alternative courses for those who wished to continue their studies. For others, assurance of their immigration status was sufficient.

On foot of the work of the task force, a number of robust regulatory reforms in the international education sector were announced jointly by me and the Minister for Justice and Equality in September 2014. The reforms included the creation of a more restricted list of eligible programmes for immigration purposes to replace the existing internationalisation register of courses. The new list of programmes, referred to as the interim list of eligible programmes, was due to come into force on 1 January 2015. However, a legal challenge by two colleges to some aspects of the reforms relating to the language sector was upheld by the High Court. As a result, while certain reforms relating to the student work concession, under which non-EEA students have access to the labour market, were introduced as planned from 1 January, implementation of the interim list was temporarily deferred pending consideration of the High Court judgment. The two Departments have now produced a package of reforms, consistent with the High Court's judgment, under the student immigration system for international education which will be brought to the Government for its approval shortly. That will occur in the very near future.

Ireland's immigration regime for non-EEA students is a generous one. It comprises the right to live and study in Ireland and provides access to the labour market.

While Ireland needs to compete internationally in this market and the immigration regime is an essential part of the package, in order to justify the granting of such permission, three essential conditions at a policy level must be satisfied. First, there must be confidence that the industry is operating to an acceptable standard and that the students are immigration-compliant. There is no room for so-called visa factories in the Irish educational sector. Second, the programmes must be of a type that reflects Ireland's strategic priorities in international education. Ireland's international education strategy and its marketing is founded on the quality of Irish higher education and our strong track record in delivering quality-assured English language programmes to overseas students. Third, the immigration regime offered to students must be consistent with both immigration policy in general and good labour market management. This package of reforms, when approved by the Government, will ensure that overarching and comprehensive immigration and quality assurance processes are in place for the delivery of international education in the State. They will significantly contribute to maintaining and enhancing Ireland's reputation as a high-quality destination for international students.

Deputy McDonald mentioned the Department's approval process. We do not approve the quality of the courses but the international register is simply a list of programmes that meet relevant immigration criteria.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is one of the key problems in this area. Dr. Pádraig Walsh, the chief executive of Quality and Qualifications Ireland, has come out very strongly to say that many of these schools operating within the State are doing so without meeting the standards under the Accreditation and Co-ordination of English Language Services, the ACELS process. He has indicated that schools recruiting students from outside the European Economic Area, EEA, which were due to introduce these in January will introduce it shortly. The Minister touched on that in her contribution. It is clear from the contribution of Dr. Walsh and everybody else, including at the education committee and this Topical Issue matter, that those regulations must be put in place as quickly as possible. Will the Minister outline what avenues are open to students who are unable, due to financial constraints, to move courses even at a discounted rate? What recourse is open to them? Will the Minister provide us with an update on creating an insurance scheme for students when this happens?

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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We certainly want to fix this and regulate the process as quickly as possible. That is why we announced the measures last year but, unfortunately, there was a court case taken and we had to address the issues raised by the decision of the court. It is important to reiterate that the vast majority of private providers of English language training in the State operate to a high standard. It is important to stress that and that we are talking about a small number. It is no consolation to the affected students that the vast majority of colleges operate to a high standard.

The organisation Marketing English in Ireland is the umbrella body that worked with the task force. It has been assisting genuine students in completing their studies by offering alternative courses at a significantly discounted rate. I acknowledge, as the Deputies noted, that those students very often just do not have the funds to even be able to accept those offers. With regard to insurance and protection, schools that are part of the Marketing English in Ireland group have arrangements in place for the protection of learners. That is something we are looking at with respect to the new provisions.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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That could be expanded.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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There would be a scheme in place whereby when the students pay money, it would be protected. We have not yet brought the recommendations to the Government. That is among the areas being examined, as well as what was announced in autumn last year that, unfortunately, were challenged in court. Along with my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, I want to get proposals to the Government and implemented as soon as possible. This is so we will not in future have people in countries like Venezuela or elsewhere being misinformed as to what is offered in Ireland. We are moving to correct the system as quickly as possible and provide, where we can, assistance for the students who have unfortunately been caught up in this issue.