Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 174: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the agencies that are funded or part funded by her Department to promote Ireland as a place of study for students at higher education colleges; the countries in which they operate; the level of funding awarded to each of these agencies in each of the past five years; the volume of students who have been recruited to come to Ireland by these agencies and if she has satisfied herself that the expenditure has been well spent [37632/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Last year, the Government announced a new framework for the promotion, quality assurance and co-ordination of international education.

As part of this new framework, Enterprise Ireland has been given the lead role in the development, promotion and marketing of international higher education, including responsibility for the Education Ireland national brand and web site. Enterprise Ireland has over 30 international offices, facilitating access to over 60 overseas markets.

The responsibility for promoting Irish higher education institutions to international students was previously split between Enterprise Ireland and the International Education Board Ireland (IEBI), a small body under the aegis of my Department. The responsibilities, and some of the staff, of IEBI have now been fully transferred to Enterprise Ireland.

I am satisfied that these arrangements constitute the most effective use of funding to support international education initiatives. Between 2006 and 2009, my Department provided the following funding to the IEBI to support international education initiatives: 2009 : €443,000 2008 : €569,0002007 : €605,0002006 : €436,000

Since the beginning of 2010, the majority of funding previously allocated to IEBI has been instead allocated to Enterprise Ireland, and my Department has arranged the transfer of the allocation to the Vote of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation. In 2010, this amount was on the order of €250,000, although Enterprise Ireland's expenditure in the area of international education is in excess of this figure because it is part of their mainstream activities, involving expenditure from various budget lines within the agency.

With respect to student numbers, Enterprise Ireland has reported that in 2009, around 26,000 international students studied in Irish higher education institutions. The Government, in its new international education strategy, has set a target that, on the basis of the new framework to promote international education, the number of international students in higher education should be increased by 50% to 38,000 students by 2015.

It should be noted that higher education institutions are themselves primarily responsible for their international activities and the main function of IEBI (up to the end of 2009) and Enterprise Ireland has been to support these efforts by promoting Ireland nationally as a destination for international study.