John McGahon (Fine Gael)
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At the outset, the concept of this Commencement debate looks somewhat technical but I will give the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, the context in which I raise it.

I am raising it following a visit by the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and me to Coláiste Chú Chulainn, a secondary school in Dundalk, County Louth, last week ahead of Europe Day today.

First, that school is one of Dundalk's newest schools. It is really quite an incredible school because there are 44 different languages in the school from its student body. It really is representative of what Ireland's schools of the future will look like throughout the next decade. This is why I am raising this issue. It affects every post-primary school in the State of which there are approximately 760.Curriculums throughout all secondary schools are rich and broad. One of the ways a student's experience in secondary school can be enhanced is through visiting foreign countries and seeing different cultures and different societies. Some of the very first trips abroad I ever went on were during secondary school. The European Union has provided for this. In 1994, the Council of the European Union agreed to an initiative by the Federal Republic of Germany to the effect that students legally resident in a member state but not a national of an EU member state could travel on these education trips within the European Union without a visa being required. That has been law in the European Union since 1994.

Let us put that into practical terms. What does it actually mean? It means that a 16-year-old Irish-resident student studying in a school in Ireland with a non-EU passport is allowed to travel on a school educational trip anywhere within the European Union without a visa. As I have said, that has been the case since 1994 so there should be no anxiety for any such students about whether they can make these school trips on the basis of the country they are going to. I will give an example. This month, a group of students from Coláiste Chú Chulainn are going on one of their first trips abroad, to Italy. The Italian Embassy in Dublin has been really proactive and fantastic in saying that visas are not needed to travel there. However, the experience with the embassies of other countries, which I will not name here, has unfortunately not been the same. Other countries have insisted that visas are required, contrary to the rules under the 1994 decision. It is not being enforced fairly across the board. Naturally, this causes a lot of concern for students from different backgrounds who are resident in Ireland, who do not have an EU passport and who may not be allowed to travel on these trips during secondary school. On that occasion, the embassy highlighted to Coláiste Chú Chulainn that it believed a number of Irish secondary schools are unaware of the 1994 decision, do not realise it exists and believe that visas are needed. It has tried to ensure that as many as possible are informed.

I bring this to the Seanad today in the hope that we can do three things in this regard. I request that the annex to the agreement be updated to take into account that identification and passport documents are now electronic and to make better reference to these. Second, I request that all EU member states issue a communication to their various embassies reiterating and publicising anew the positive agreements that were made in this arrangement back in 1994. Finally, it is important to work with our colleagues in the Department of Education to make sure this information gets out to schools right across the way. That would be really helpful in removing this anxiety and red tape that secondary schools throughout the country are experiencing.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Harris. The Senator will be aware that Ireland, as a member of the European Union, offers freedom of movement to nationals of the European Economic Area and certain family members. The relevant EU legislation in this regard is the directive on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states. On 30 November 1994, the Council of the EU adopted a decision on a joint action on the basis of Article K.3(2)(b) of the Treaty on European Union concerning travel facilities for school pupils from third countries who are legally resident in a member state. This allows schoolchildren from third countries who are resident in a member state to visit or transit another member state of the EU if travelling as a member of a school group without the need to obtain a visa. To qualify under this measure, the pupils must be legally resident in an EU member state, they must be travelling in an organised school group seeking entry into another member state for a short stay or transit and the school must be a general education school. The concession does not apply to specialist institutions. The group must be accompanied by a teacher from the school and the pupils' details and the purpose of the journey must be listed on the common format form, list of travellers form, issued by the school. The application form is available on the immigration service website.

Travel, particularly as part of a school trip, is widely recognised as being incredibly valuable and beneficial to the development of children and young people. It exposes them to different cultures and languages. It informs their understanding of world history and builds empathy with other people's way of life. For many young people, travel is not an option outside of a school trip. School trips are therefore an affordable and engaging opportunity that can influence students' educational development.The Council decision has facilitated easier travel for non-EU students studying in Ireland to travel throughout the EU and for thousands of non-EU students residing in other member states to come and visit Ireland as part of their school trips. The Senator is very much aware of the technical side. I have heard what he has said. Some of the concern is more about students travelling from Ireland to other EU countries and perhaps embassies not being fully aware of the rights of those students from third countries.

I will certainly raise the matter further with the Minister, Deputy Harris. I will also raise the matter with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Education to see whether schools can be alerted that this is available. Knowing this facility is available would encourage schools to take more trips because there is not the same complexity they might be afraid of. Today is Europe Day. I was delighted to spend time with a primary school in Rathgarogue, County Wexford. The more travel we can encourage the better the understanding of our country within the EU.

John McGahon (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. As I said, when we are reading any European legislation, we wonder what it actually means. This came in on 30 November 1994. How many students in a second level school in Ireland had a non-Irish passport at that time? The number would have been much lower in 1994 than it is in 2023. It is much more prevalent and important today.

I thank the Minister of State for what he has agreed to do. He has agreed to ensure that every secondary school in Ireland, all 760 of them, are fully aware that no visas are required within the EU when on an educational trip. That would cut down on a lot of stress and anxiety. Perhaps the Minister and Department of Foreign Affairs should make sure that every embassy knows this is part of a European declaration from 1994 and that it is not acceptable for some European embassies in this country to decide they will not listen to that and instead ignore it. I will not mention them, but we have to ask whether it is a case of a lack of knowledge to enforce this. We need to remind embassies that students in this country are allowed to go abroad regardless of whether they have an Irish passport.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I will raise the matter with the Minister. As the Senator will be aware, Ireland, as a member state of the European Union, offers freedom of movement to nationals of the European Economic Area and certain family members. The relevant EU legislation in this regard is a directive on the rights of citizens of the Union and their families to move and reside freely within the territory of the member state.

I again thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the attention of the Minister. I am advised he has already passed his comments to officials working in the Department who will now examine the matter further. I would like to emphasise that any school group in Ireland that is travelling abroad should check the requirements with the host country and airline. These requirements can vary. Some countries require passports to have at least six months left on them from the date of planned departure before allowing entry into a country. The Department of Foreign Affairs website has helpful information in this regard for teachers.

Finally, I would like to wish a successful journey to the students in Coláiste Chú Chulainn, Dundalk. As I said, I will bring the matter to the attention of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Education.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is very welcome to the House. I call Senator O'Loughlin.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I was told I was dealing with the third Commencement matter in the name of Senator Lombard.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I was told the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, would deal with my Commencement matter.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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We are on the third Commencement matter. With the indulgence of Senator O'Loughlin, can we take the Commencement matter in the name of Senator Lombard?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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If the Members who should be here turned up, we would not have this problem.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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That is another point. I apologise to the Minister of State for this confusion and thank him for his continuous attendance in the House to take Commencement matters that are not necessarily the responsibility of his Department. On this occasion, I call Senator Lombard.