Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2026
392. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the actions he is taking to ensure that all English language schools are adhering to their legal requirements including visa applications, student enrolments & attendance requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54289/26]
View answer393. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the mechanisms and inspection protocols in place to ensure that that all English language schools are adhering to their legal requirements including visa applications, student enrolments and attendance requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54290/26]
View answer394. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the repercussions for an English language school that is found not to be adhering to their legal requirements including visa applications, student enrolments and attendance requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54291/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 392, 393 and 394 together.
English language schools in Ireland operate under the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP), introduced in 2015, which is a restrictive list of full time education programmes eligible for international student visas and stamp 2 immigration permissions.
ILEP is currently being superseded by TrustEd Ireland, the international education mark launched in September 2024 by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and the Department of Further and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 (DFHERIS). TrustEd Ireland is a new statutory quality mark and part of a suite of legislative measures designed to further protect international learners.
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.
Once the ILEP is discontinued, only education providers which are granted authorisation to use the TrustEd Ireland mark provided by QQI will be eligible to recruit non-EU/EEA students to English language programmes, foundation programmes and higher education programmes leading to awards within the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
Providers must remain in compliance with the relevant criteria to retain a listing on the ILEP. My Department monitors compliance and 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 my Department at any time and failure to do so can result in the removal of a provider from the ILEP.
Once a provider is listed on the ILEP, they are required to notify my Department 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.
All ILEP listed English language schools are required to submit information on a weekly basis and includes data on enrolments, attendance rates and expulsions.
I can assure the Deputy that there has been a high level of compliance regarding data provision for immigration compliance purposes. All schools are aware of the consequences of non-compliance, and that failure to adhere with ILEP criteria may result in removal from the list. The ILEP Committee, comprising of officials from both my Department and DFHERIS, has recently removed a number of providers from the ILEP as a result of information obtained during these compliance checks.
