Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of students that have applied for the MEI Chinese adult pilot programme; and the number who have been refused. [15748/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In 2012, INIS established a pilot programme in partnership with Marketing English in Ireland (MEI). This pilot programme has been extended for a further phase covering 2013 and 2014. To date, the Visa Office in Beijing has received around 100 applications under the adult MEI Pilot Programme with a refusal rate of 29%. These refusals by and large arise from concerns about the validity of documentation submitted with applications as well as the stated intentions of some applicants. My Department continues to work in co-operation with MEI on resolving these issues.