Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 336: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the meetings he has had with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation regarding improving the approval time for visa applications for students studying English here to help grow the education sector of the economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31920/11]

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 337: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the meetings he has had regarding improving the time for visa applications in respect of students studying English here to help grow the education sector of the economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31937/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 336 and 337 together.

The Government is committed to the development and growth of the English language education sector in Ireland. The New Immigration Regime for Full Time non-EEA Students launched in January 2011 and the Education in Ireland brand launched in March 2011 underpins this commitment to attract more international students to study in Ireland and to create new jobs in the sector. Our target is to double the number of international students studying in Ireland in the Higher Education and English Language Sectors. To achieve this goal there is regular and productive communication between all of the relevant stakeholders in Government and the Industry.

The processing of visa applications from prospective students falls under the remit of my Department. However not all international students are visa required. Indeed, much of the market for English language providers in Ireland originates from within the EU. Nonetheless, there is potential for growth through attracting non-EEA national students to high quality education providers.

The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service website advises applicants to allow eight weeks for the applications to be processed, although in practice most applications are processed in a much shorter period. In my Department's dedicated overseas visa offices most applications are typically processed within 2 to 3 weeks. These processing times compare favourably with international standards. English language education providers are fully aware of the processing times and market their services accordingly. The decision to pursue English language education in any jurisdiction is a careful consideration for a student and is not a spontaneous decision. These processing times are reasonable in that regard and I have no information which would indicate that this is an issue which is inimical to the industry here.