John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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117. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to recent reports that international students here are to face rises in the cost of their health insurance due to the policies being deemed to be a breach of the law; if these reports are accurate; if so, her views on whether this is damaging to Ireland's reputation as an international destination for students and that competitors in the international educational space will try to take advantage of this major slip, which is not the fault of the Irish institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4473/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department requires all non-EEA students intent on undertaking full-time studies in the State to have private medical insurance. It is also worth pointing out that non-EEA students are not the only category of migrant subject to such a requirement. This is a relatively widespread condition imposed by immigration authorities in many jurisdictions on persons seeking to reside in their jurisdiction for extended periods.

This requirement has a dual purpose. Firstly, it is a very reasonable condition imposed by many sovereign governments in order to protect the public interest and public resources. Secondly, it is important to safeguard the welfare of non-EEA students who should have access to any necessary medical services while in the State and, of course, emergency medical repatriation to their home country in the event of a catastrophic injury or illness.

The requirement to have private medical insurance is a long standing one and already in place before January 2011 when new student immigration rules were introduced, and these rules further confirmed and clarified that requirement for non-EEA students. Clear guidance on this is available on the INIS website (www.inis.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions%20-%20Students) of the immigration service. While, what is commonly referred to as 'travel insurance' might suffice for newly arrived students, subject to certain key requirements, it was always intended that those wishing to stay on student permission for more than one year would require private medical insurance for their second and subsequent years (as stipulated in the guidelines).

I am aware of recent media reports relating to recent actions by the Health Insurance Authority (HIA). Officials of my Department are due to meet with the HIA shortly to better understand these changes. The HIA is, however, an independent statutory regulator of the private health insurance market in Ireland and, as such, is entirely free to impose any regulatory requirements it sees fit. In the circumstances it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on this matter, only to re-iterate that access to private medical insurance by non-EEA national students is in the interests of such students.