Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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1245. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the reporting obligations of higher education institutions and private colleges in respect of non-EEA students holding study visas; the means by which institutions are required to notify the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration or immigration service delivery where a student withdraws, fails to attend, or ceases to meet visa conditions; and the amount of such information that is monitored and enforced to ensure compliance. [60125/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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1246. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has undertaken any audit or compliance review of reporting practices among education providers enrolling international students; and if measures are in place to ensure accurate data-sharing between institutions and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. [60126/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1245 and 1246 together.

In order for a non-EEA national student to register for a stamp 2 permission they must enrol and commence a course of study from the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP).

Education providers were required to have met certain standards and requirements to have their programmes included on the ILEP and be accredited by recognised Irish awarding bodies. Providers must remain in compliance with the relevant criteria to retain a listing on the ILEP. Instances of non-compliance may result in removal from the ILEP.

All education providers listed on the ILEP are required to maintain attendance records and this is a key criterion under ILEP. They must have clear systems in place for the recording of attendance and clearly outline the rules on punctuality and the related penalties. Such records must be available for inspection by, or submission to, the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) of my Department at any time.

Any education provider may be subject to unannounced inspections, on-line monitoring, or random spot checks to ensure its compliance with ILEP criteria, and this includes the maintenance of records and reports. These may be requested by ISD at any time and failure to do so can result in the removal of a provider from the ILEP.

If a student is expelled, withdraws, or fails to attend, all ILEP providers are required to notify ISD. In August 2025, my Department communicated with all ILEP listed English Language providers seeking their agreement in respect of data sharing for the purpose of processing student residence permissions. All providers intending to recruit non-EEA national students replied positively and in agreement.

Where students have not complied with the conditions of their Stamp 2 permission, in terms of course attendance and progression, they may be subject to revocation of that residence status.

The table below shows the number of inspections carried out by my Department from 2020, up to 3 October 2025.

**Up to and including 2024, the Garda National Immigration Bureau carried out further inspections for counties within their remit before the transfer of registration functions to my Department was complete.

Inspections are only one piece of a suite of compliance activities. Once a provider is listed on the ILEP, they are required to notify ISD of matters such as, but not limited to, any changes to the ownership of the school, change in locations or additional centres, changes to their academic management or teachers, and student capacity numbers.

ILEP is being superseded by TrustEd Ireland, the international education mark launched in September 2024 by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. TrustEd Ireland is a new statutory quality mark and part of a suite of legislative measures designed to further protect international learners.

Once the ILEP is discontinued, only education providers granted authorisation to use the TrustEd Ireland mark will be eligible to recruit students from outside the EEA to English language programmes, foundation programmes and higher education programmes leading to awards within the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

The new mark will be awarded to higher education and English language education providers who have demonstrated that they meet national standards to ensure a quality experience for international learners from pre-enrolment through to the completion of their programme of education and training. Applications are currently being reviewed for the first application cycle, which closed in March 2025. Decisions are scheduled to issue in January 2026.