Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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139. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to deal with the lack of regulation in relation to agencies and persons that recruit students from outside the European Union for college courses here, particularly in relation to those dropping out of, or failing to turn up for, the courses, and the lack of any monitoring or check-up on their attendance, in conjunction with colleges and language schools in the State. [6158/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Ireland has an excellent international reputation for the quality of education services delivered to both our own citizens and those who come here from abroad. The vast majority of providers of education and training to international students in the State operate to a high standard and are motivated by the desire to enable learners to reach their potential. However, it is evident that a minority of providers do not operate to the same standards, with serious implications for students and the reputation of the wider sector.

For this reason, I announced robust regulatory reforms to the international education sector together with the Minister for Justice and Equality on 2nd September 2014. These reforms are designed to provide certainty and clarity for international students coming to Ireland, to prioritise education over work, to give effect to an enhanced inspection and compliance regime and to safeguard the strong international reputation of high-quality Irish education providers.

A key pillar of these reforms is a strengthened and more integrated inspection regime, including an enhanced inspection function for the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) and the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), which will be linked to Revenue, the Department of Social Protection and the National Employment Rights Authority. Officials from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality are co-operating closely on the arrangements for the implementation of the reforms and when finalised, these will be brought to Government for approval.

Another key pillar of the regulatory reforms for international education is the International Education Mark and related Code of Practice. The Code of Practice, which is currently being finalised by QQI, includes requirements relating to the protection of enrolled learners, treatment of fees and tax compliance, and will also address other 'non-academic' issues such as recruitment, marketing and accommodation. Providers will have to demonstrate compliance with the Code before being authorised to use the Mark.

The Mark will be used both as a driver of quality within institutions and as a marketing tool to underpin the promotional activities of Enterprise Ireland in seeking to attract international learners to Ireland. In addition, the Mark will be used for immigration purposes. From 2016 it will become a requirement that providers wishing to recruit students from outside the EEA have authorisation to use the Mark. Providers authorised to use the Mark will also be subject to ongoing monitoring and review.