Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of students that have been designated as timed-out students under the New Immigration Regime for Full Time Non-EEA Students that was published in September 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33531/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The 'New Immigration Regime for Full Time Non-EEA Students' was published in September 2010 and has been in operation since 1 January 2011. The new regime introduced maximum periods for residence in the State on foot of a student permission and provided for a differentiated approach between "Degree Programme" courses and those at the "Language or Non-Degree Programme" level.

Existing students who exceed the new time limits are regarded as "timed-out". However, because of the new time limits and the differentiation between the types of course it is not possible to give an exact number of students who are deemed to be timed-out as a result of the new immigration regime. This operates on a rolling basis and it will depend not just on the number of years the student has been in Ireland but also on the nature of their course and their progress. For example, all students were permitted to complete any course they had commenced prior to the introduction of the new rules. A student can also move from a language course to a degree programme in which case different limits apply. In addition students who finish an honours degree course and above are permitted to remain on for a further year during which they can work, engage in internship or, if they wish to stay for a longer period, seek an employment permit.

A snapshot of the student population taken earlier this year showed that a little over 2800 registered non-EEA students had been in Ireland since before 1 January 2004 although for the reasons outlined above not all of these would be regarded as timed out.