Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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137. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the percentage of each Accreditation and Co-ordination of English Language Services, ACELS, and a company's (details supplied) schools capacity that is left empty in order to assure they have enough capacity to honour the ACELS and the company's learner protection scheme should the need arise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16838/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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ACELS (the Accreditation and Coordination of English Language Services) is a voluntary national scheme responsible for the development and management of the recognition and inspection of English language schools.  ACELS is operated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).  My Department does not maintain figures of the occupancy rates within privately operated English language schools.

As part of the regulations governing the operation of ACELS, all schools with ACELS recognition must have learner protection schemes in place.  These schemes are underpinned by Statutory Declarations given by the providers.

The company referred to by the Deputy is a long established private association of English language schools.  It is a condition of membership of this company that a school holds ACELS recognition.

The company’s learner protection scheme requires its members to provide a guarantee that students enrolled in its schools will be able to complete the course for which they have enrolled, or a similar course, at another member school in the locality.