Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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282. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the work being done to support English language students here; and if he has had discussions with the Minister for Justice and Equality regarding suspension of student visas until September 2020 or such point when face-to-face classes can be resumed. [8085/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department is conscious of the issues in the English language education sector arising from the Covid-19 outbreak. While I have not had direct engagement with my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, officials from our respective Departments are in regular contact on these matters.

My Department has established a Covid-19 Working Group for this sector which is comprised of representatives of relevant Government Departments including the Department of Justice and Equality and representatives of both students and English language education providers. This Group continues to meet to address measures and supports for the students and providers in this sector.

The Department of Justice and Equality continues to publish updates on any changes to the immigration permission system resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak and has recently provided a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to provide additional detail on these measures. The most recent update, issued on 13^thMay 2020, informs students that all immigration permissions that are due to expire from 20^thMay 2020 to 20^thJuly 2020 will be automatically renewed for a period of 2 months. It is a requirement of these permissions that students continue to be enrolled in a course of study and that they attend scheduled classes including where they are provided online. In the current circumstances and as a temporary measure, students are also permitted to work for a maximum period of 40 hours a week on the condition that they complete their course online if this service is provided by their school. Further changes to student immigration permissions will be discussed with the Department of Justice and Equality and will be informed by engagement with stakeholders for this sector, Covid-19 developments and the timeframe for the re-opening of the premises of English language education providers.

The timeframe and arrangements for the re-opening of the premises of providers and for the return to in class tuition for students will be guided by public health advice applicable at a given time. On May 1^st, the Taoiseach announced the roadmap for the gradual lifting of the current Covid-19 restrictions. This roadmap sets out a number of phases with the re-opening of the wider education system contained in the later phases to coincide broadly with the beginning of the new academic year.

My Department will engage with relevant stakeholders within the sector regarding their development of plans for re-opening. It is anticipated that these plans will be informed by the "Return to Work Safely Protocol" recently published jointly by the Department of Health and the Department of Enterprise, Business & Innovation, and designed to support measures being put in place that will prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.Experience of the re-opening of educational facilities in other jurisdictions will also be relevant.