Written answers

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Department of Education and Skills

English Language Training Organisations

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the lack of regulation covering pay and conditions for teachers in the English language college sector; and his plans to properly regulate the sector. [11126/17]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The majority of English language colleges in Ireland are privately run, and issues such as pay and conditions are a matter between teachers and the individual colleges. If teachers have a concern about their terms and conditions of employment they should contact the National Employment Rights Authority in this regard.

In line with the Government decision of 19 May 2015, a series of reforms to the student immigration system for international education are being implemented. These reforms include the restriction of the list of education programmes considered to justify the granting of permission to students to live and work in Ireland (known as the Interim List of Eligible Programmes – the ILEP).

As part of this new process all providers of English language training wishing to recruit non-EEA students are required to apply to the Department of Justice and Equality for inclusion on the ILEP. All English language providers seeking inclusion on the ILEP have to comply with certain new requirements including declaration of ownership, teacher qualifications, attendance rates, compulsory exam registration policies and maximum class size. The regulations governing the ILEP also specify a requirement that all obligations concerning national legislative requirements, including national employment regulations, are complied with.

The ILEP was introduced in January 2016 and is managed by the Department of Justice and Equality in association with my Department. The ILEP continues to be updated at regular intervals.

The ILEP process is an interim measure until the introduction of the International Education Mark (IEM) for the provision of education to international learners, which will provide a full quality framework in the future. The measures necessary to facilitate the introduction of the IEM are being progressed by my Department.

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