Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Thursday, 2 Jul 2026

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Bus Services

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Ireland's largest summer festival will take place this weekend at Newbridge House and Farm in Donabate. The Flavours of Fingal is in its 14th year. It has been a hugely successful festival. It is one that I really enjoy going to every year. Many of my neighbours and people from my community also really look forward to it. It is a fantastic opportunity for local vendors such as cheese makers and craftspeople to showcase their wares. It is a big event in their calendar and of huge importance to our local economy, as well as just being a good day out for families and people in general.

Between 65,000 and 75,000 people attend, which makes it one of the biggest summer festivals. Part of the success of Flavours of Fingal has been the shuttle bus service that operates all around the Fingal area. It brings people from Rush, Lusk, Skerries, Balbriggan, Swords and the surrounding areas, and means they can get to and from the festival with ease. I do not expect the Minister of State to be familiar with every aspect of north County Dublin. Donbate is situated on a peninsula, which means one road in and one road out. It is very tight. What we do not want to see is people having a bad experience on their way to the festival. Also, from a sustainability and environmental perspective, I am scratching my head trying to understand why this money was pulled. I would love to know where the money was reallocated to, but more importantly, I really want people to be able to get to Flavours of Fingal easily and to get home easily. I know the vendors and the people who are there to showcase their products want that as well. This is a huge event and a huge day in their calendar. It is a day when people get the chance not just to make money, but also to showcase local talent and local produce.

Thousands of extra cars on the road means extra pollution, as the Minister of State knows, but it also means that people are less likely to get in. It is a real bottleneck. We have had trouble with traffic there, which is part of the reason the shuttle bus service was such a success. It is fine for people who live along the train line. The Minister of State will know there is a train line that runs right through my constituency. They will be grand because they are getting the train anyway. However, the vast majority of people who attend Flavours of Fingal do not live on the train line. As a result, they will find themselves in a situation where they have to travel by other means.

Added to this is the eye-watering cost of parking a car, which is €40. That is a lot. If someone is bringing a couple of kids, they will want to have a few bob to buy them an ice cream and to fully experience all the delights of the show, but they cannot add €40 on top of that. It is a real ask for families. We really want the Flavours of Fingal to continue to be the success story that it is, but without the shuttle buses, there is going to be traffic chaos. I do not want our big summer festival getting a name as a place that people do not want to go to because of traffic congestion.

I am not sure what can be done at this late stage. This matter raised previously in the Dáil by my colleague Deputy Ann Graves. The Taoiseach told her, "I will talk to people to see what can be done there.” He also said, “I will talk to the Minister and see what can be done.” Perhaps the Minister of State has a message from the Taoiseach for us.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (Deputy Frankie Feighan)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien. I would like to clarify that the Minister has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services.

I am familiar with Loughshinny, Donabate, Rush and Portrane. My grandfather was the sergeant at Rush back in the 1940s, and my mother grew up there and went to school in Dublin.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

In that case, the Minister of State will know what I am talking about.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services nationally, working with the public transport operators that deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. In this regard, while it is the NTA's priority to provide scheduled public transport services on the Transport for Ireland, TFI, network, it works with event organisers, operators, local authorities and An Garda Síochána to provide additional transport supports where possible to do so. Its focus regarding events is providing additional transport to support large-scale events where required and where operators are in a position to provide additional services.

In the context of this specific event, Flavours of Fingal, which is arranged by Fingal County Council in Newbridge House in Donabate for this Saturday and Sunday, 4 and 5 July, the council has provided a private bus shuttle operation each year of this event, which was run by Marathon Coaches to Blanchardstown, Rush, Balbriggan, Swords and the Naul. However, this year, the NTA was informed that Fingal County Council withdrew from providing this bus shuttle service, which is outside the control of the NTA. This was a decision taken by the council, and it was fully removed from the NTA.

The NTA’s priority this weekend will be to cover major events at Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium. If capacity on the rail network allows, Irish Rail will support Flavours of Fingal. The bus operators do not have any capacity to put on additional services to Donabate because they will be servicing other, larger events in the city centre. As the Deputy rightly said, there will be between 65,000 and 75,000 people there, so a shuttle bus would be needed. It has to be noted that all TFl operators, including Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland, have just serviced nine concerts in Malahide Castle, which concluded on Tuesday, 30 June, last, in circumstances where they all provided significant additional resources for each of the concerts in the series. The NTA is not in a position to provide any further services at this time due to resource availability.

The NTA has a dedicated team that attends pre-event meetings in order to plan what additional transport can be provided. Co-ordinating transport across events in different local authority areas can be very challenging, especially at this time of year. For example, last week there were large events at the Aviva Stadium, Croke Park, Malahide and Marlay Park, all on the same day, which put constraints on services. Therefore, the challenge facing the NTA and the transport operators is the number of large-scale events being scheduled concurrently. The resources simply are not available to support them all because support for such events requires vehicles, drivers, support staff, site personnel and security teams, all of which have limited availability due to the normal workload associated with the scheduled services.

The Department of Transport requested that the NTA be included as a prescribed body in the draft regulations under the Planning and Development Act. This should assist the NTA in working with local authorities, event organisers and transport operators to ensure a more co-ordinated approach to event licensing and management of transport to and from events.

In addition to the specific transport provided for events, as part of the BusConnect's network redesign, the NTA has introduced 15 24-hour bus services across the city, significantly enhancing late night and early morning travel options. This has allowed more people to avail of public transport services. In addition, there are 12 Nitelink services running from the city centre to suburbs on Friday and Saturday nights, providing extra capacity during late-night demand periods.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. He will forgive me for saying it is an incredibly disappointing reply. Donabate is in the constituency of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I am sure his constituents will be very interested to hear that the NTA has other priorities, including Croke Park, Lansdowne Road stadium and Marlay Park, none of which is in Fingal. I appreciate that the Minister of State is taking this on behalf of the Minister. The Minister told us about Nitelink but he should know that Flavours of Fingal is over long before the Nitelink buses start running. In any event, it would have been of absolutely no use to people going to Donabate for what is one of the biggest events of the summer, attended by between 65,000 and 75,000 people.

My concern is that there will be traffic congestion, in the first instance, and a reduction in numbers. I have had contact from quite a number of people who told me they look forward to going to Flavours of Fingal and they and their kids travel on the shuttle bus because it is convenient and means they do not have to worry about parking. It is disappointing that the attitude of the Minister is that people can pay €40 for parking and other major events are on, which are more important. I am sure his constituents would like to feel like they were something of a priority for him. They will get that message loud and clear. Will the Minister of State take back to the Minister a request that engagement starts now to ensure there is additional capacity through the NTA, or whoever it is that has to provide it, to ensure that people can get to and from Flavours of Fingal using public transport? Effectively, and contrary to what the Government has told us about its climate action targets, people will be forced into their cars, which is regrettable.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

I assure the Deputy that the NTA meets all public transport operators on a regular basis and advises event promoters about what, if any, additional public transport services are available for particular events. Some events are organised without any input or involvement from the NTA. As a result, the authority may not be aware of them until a very late stage. The NTA suggested that there may be a need for more scrutiny of transport availability when licensing such events, in particular when different local authorities licence events to take place concurrently or in close proximity to each other.

The Department has ensured significant collaboration is taking place with the NTA and operators so that sufficient public transport capacity is provided for major events. Again, I am not sure whether the Minister has a huge role in this. His job is to bring the NTA and various stakeholders together. For example, in the last week in respect of public transport we discussed Malahide, the Aviva stadium, Marlay Park and Croke Park. There have been many events in the city and the NTA has said it is difficult to service all of them.

The NTA is cognisant of the increased demand such events bring and is working to establish a co-ordinated framework that balances meeting demand and efficient co-ordination within existing resources. However, decisions by event organisers, such as in the case of Flavours of Fingal, is completely outside the control of the NTA and Department.

There has been huge growth in public transport use in recent years. The Government remains committed to ensuring that public transport continues to be affordable, reliable and an attractive option for all passengers, including those attending concerts and events. I will take the views of the Deputy back to the Minister.

Despite the council briefing elected officials, I have been told they were informed by management that hosting the full-scale Flavours of Fingal represented a significant cost to the council and cancelling the sprawling regional shuttle network was a direct measure to contain mounting festival expenses. It was stated that the events, transport and overall scale were being adjusted to free up funding for events elsewhere in Fingal following a request from other local councillors who wanted the festival budget to be distributed more evenly across the entire county rather than heavily concentrated on a single flagship event. The fight is never what the fight is about.

Harbours and Piers

Deputy Tom Brabazon

Howth Yacht Club caters for all types of people. One might think a yacht club is the preserve of the wealthy middle class but the club goes well beyond that and has ambitious plans to become an inclusive club catering for those less able and less fortunate than regular club members. Recently, the EPA granted a licence to dredge the harbour, which is a welcome development and the first time it will have been done since the 1970s. It is a great development for the harbour as a whole. It will necessitate the yacht club replacing its marine infrastructure, which is a very expensive operation. It will cost a large sum and the club will look to the State for grant funding from the large scale infrastructure fund.

Like all funding streams, one of the necessary proofs is having good title to the land that it occupies. The club has five leases from the Department of, Agriculture, Food and the Marine. To tidy up the title, the club hired a specialist solicitor to try to consolidate the leases to simplify the title in order to ease grant applications. The draft lease was sent to the Department in July 2024 and was forwarded to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in August 2024. This work has still not been completed. We are two years on and the work needs to be finalised without further delay.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Department owns, operates and maintains six designated State-owned fishery harbour centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl, under statute. It also has responsibility for Cape Clear, Cleggan and some piers, lights and beacons. Fishery harbour centres are established under the Fishery Harbour Centres Act 1968 as centres in which to promote, develop and carry out sea fishing, including the production and sale of fish and fish products and related activities.

Responsibility for the fishery harbour centres transferred to my Department in October 2007 from the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Each fishery harbour centre owns land and properties within its respective boundary. Such properties, which are vested in this Department under the 1968 Act, are to be used for such purposes connected with the improvement and development of the fish industry and the provision, improvement and development of services ancillary to, or connected with, the fish industry. Therefore, the harbours contain a diverse property portfolio reflecting their role as working fishery harbours and the locations for a broad range of other marine activities.

There are currently 265 properties in total, excluding pier infrastructure, across six fishery harbour centres, 83 of which are located in Howth Fishery harbour centre. Almost 30% of all properties are used by the Department in the operation of the harbours, providing facilities for net mending, pier service areas, storage for fishing gear and weighbridges, for instance. The remaining properties are occupied by a variety of public and private sector tenants under formal lease agreement and are vital economically and socially to the remote and coastal communities that the fishery harbour centres serves. Some of the properties operate as commercial premises, such as fish processing facilities, restaurants or clubs and, for example yachting, rowing, and scout halls. Other properties reflect more functional aspects of the harbour such as car parking, marina and boat houses.

The Department works closely with the Office of the Chief State Solicitor to progress the often complex and protracted legal aspects relating to property leases. A solicitor is employed by the office at the Department’s request to deal solely with the harbours’ property portfolio, the cost of which is met from the Department’s fishery harbour centre fund. While it is Department policy to not discuss individual leases publicly or with parties other than those immediately involved, I assure the Deputy that the Department and its legal advisers are actively working through the details and the drafting of the lease terms for the tenant concerned.

Due to the complexity of the multiple leases and the level of detail involved, the Department is carefully considering each aspect to ensure the terms are properly reviewed, accurately reflected and reflective of the current advice of the Chief State Solicitor's office. The Department is committed to giving the time necessary to ensure all terms are thoroughly reviewed and correctly addressed. I am informed that the consolidation is progressing steadily, with strong engagement with all stakeholders involved in the process.

Deputy Tom Brabazon

I certainly would not be raising this issue in this public way in the Chamber if the matter were progressing in the manner the Minister of State has described. We have been waiting two years for the resolution of a consolidated lease in circumstances where the club's specialist hired solicitor has, in effect, done the work for the State. He has drafted the lease for the Department. It should take only a matter of hours for a competent solicitor to read through it and either approve it or suggest amendments. I would not be raising this issue on behalf of the club, two years on, if what the Department is claiming was factual.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

I thank the Deputy for his measured approach. The process taking two years is reason enough for him to raise this important issue here. It is welcome that the Department maintains an open and proper relationship with the tenant and is always available to provide an update on progress or to address any queries. As recently as 25 June, the Department provided an email update to the tenant on the current progress. This was in addition to in-person meetings at Howth Fishery Harbour Centre on 26 May this year and 27 November 2025.

These matters often move more slowly than the parties would like. It is important to recognise that all due diligence must be completed thoroughly for the safeguarding of all involved. This is a commercially sensitive issue and aspects of it cannot be discussed publicly. The consolidation involves four leases that were taken out at different times, on different terms and with different clauses. As discussed, this is a process that requires significant due diligence. The Department is progressing the matter appropriately. I assure the Deputy that the matter is in hand and there is no risk to the tenant as all leases are well within their term, with the earliest expiration being a few years away. The Deputy has made some very interesting points. I will convey them to the Minister.

Industrial Disputes

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

I raise the issue of the industrial action being taken by staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus. The facility looks after some of our most vulnerable children who have found themselves in a particular set of circumstances. Care is provided by social care workers and supervising officers both day and night. At maximum capacity, the centre can hold 42 boys and four girls. Since Thursday, 25 June, Fórsa members have been operating a work-to-rule measure after a ballot for industrial action received 91% support.

The easiest way I can explain the circumstances and situations that have led to the industrial action is to refer to statements from Fórsa. A union official has stated that the proposals put forward by management were "not grounded in operational reality" and did not adequately address the ongoing impact of staffing pressures on employees. It is all about safe delivery of services, including ensuring there is capacity and ensuring the safety of the people who work there and the young people detained there. Fórsa has stated:

Members have repeatedly raised concerns that staffing shortfalls are placing unsustainable pressure on services and increasing risks in a challenging custodial environment for children and staff alike. If it isn't safe for staff, it cannot be safe for the young people in their care.

That really is the crux of the matter. A union official has said: "Members have previously reported serious incidents at the facility, including assaults on staff and injuries requiring hospital treatment, in circumstances where staffing levels were stretched and operational demands intensified." That is the situation with which we are dealing.

I am sure the Minister of State will talk about the State's industrial relations infrastructure and framework. However, the underlying issue at Oberstown arises from the problems with staffing capacity and the safety of those who work there. We have all heard about assaults that have happened previously. Like many others, I have heard from people working in the facility that there are huge issues that were not being addressed. It was no shock whatsoever to me that we got into a set of circumstances whereby we now have industrial action. What frightens me is that the industrial action continues and the issues have not been addressed. We can all talk about going through the correct protocols and procedures but we know there is the possibility of having conversations. If the underlying issues that caused the industrial action were dealt with, we would not be in this set of circumstances.

I have to hand figures for legal fees and associated State Claims Agency payments in recent years. The figure was €132,806 in 2020, €901,590 in 2021, €482,454 in 2022, €845,645 in 2023, €826,541 in 2024 and €861,807 in 2024. That points to the serious issues that need to be addressed. This is not good enough. I hope the Minister of State can provide a helpful answer.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

On behalf of the Minister for children, I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and affording her the opportunity to respond. The Minister would like to make clear at the outset that the safety and well-being of the children in the care of Oberstown, and of the staff who support them, is and will remain the highest priority. The Minister notes that Oberstown, as the employer, is engaging directly with staff representatives through the appropriate industrial relations mechanisms, including conciliation under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC.

The industrial action is ongoing and has not been stood down but there are efforts to maintain open lines of communication to resolve the matter. Engagement via conciliation at the WRC remains open to the parties. I understand that local engagement is scheduled for this coming Monday in an effort to find a way forward. The Minister respects the rights of workers to take industrial action. At the same time, continued engagement by all parties, including through established dispute resolution mechanisms, is encouraged in order to reach a resolution that is practical, sustainable and centred on safety.

Oberstown is the State's only national facility for the detention of children and, as such, it operates within wider pressures in the youth justice system. Demand for places has increased. In February 2026, the Minister informed the Oireachtas of her intention to increase the capacity for boys in Oberstown by four to 44 during the course of the year. At the end of March, she increased the capacity for boys at Oberstown to 42 from 40, at the same time reducing the capacity for girls from six to four. No decision regarding capacity is taken without a clear understanding of its implications for staffing levels, safety conditions and the overall care environment for the children. The staff and management of Oberstown have handled the change in the certified capacity with the professionalism and care that have become the hallmarks of the facility.

The Department has increased funding to Oberstown in recent years to support service delivery, strengthen operations and enhance the overall care environment for the children. That sustained investment reflects the Government's commitment to ensuring the campus is properly resourced. The Department is working closely with Oberstown management to ensure staffing levels are aligned with operational demands, workforce planning is strengthened and staff are appropriately supported in what is a highly challenging role. The Government provided €2.176 million in additional funding for Oberstown in 2026 to increase staffing levels, including funding for 11 additional whole-time equivalent staff posts. That includes additional day supervising officers, who are support staff, and assistant unit managers.

In the first six months of 2026, Oberstown has been successful in recruiting the majority of those extra staff despite tight labour-market conditions.

The safety and well-being of staff and young people in Oberstown Children Detention Campus is of the utmost importance to the Minister. The following details demonstrate how Oberstown cares for its staff. Staff in Oberstown are supported with access to an on-site psychologist, peer support workers, employee assistance services and structured after-incident reviews, forming part of a systemic approach to supporting well-being in a challenging workplace. All staff working with young people in Oberstown receive training in suicide prevention, self-harm mitigation and incident management. Oberstown has adopted the ISO 45003 certification on psychological health and safety at work. Furthermore, Oberstown maintains an ISO 45001 health and safety management system on campus. The health and safety officer in Oberstown works closely with all the staff and all incidents on campus are followed up as soon as possible. These measures demonstrate a commitment to ensuring the highest possible standards of staff safety, well-being and professional support.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

I ask that the Minister of State go to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and reiterate the point that this issue, first of all, should not have got here. This is abject failure. We all accept that it would be a difficult place to work and there would be very difficult situations. We are talking about children whom a determination has been made to detain. It frightens me when we hear about assaults on staff and insufficient safety for those who work there and the children detained there. This is not working.

The only the only piece of positive news - and that is a bit of a stretch - is the fact that local engagement is scheduled for this coming Monday, in an effort to find a way forward. I ask that maximum effort be put into finding a solution to this and ensuring that we have a safe level of staffing and that we have the correct protocols for dealing with issues where there may be the possibility of violence and that we have the correct protections. We all know that on some level it is a societal failure when we are looking at children being detained in the first place. We all know that we have to put an awful lot more work into those early interventions and help for children and their families that could avoid if not all, then at least some of this. However, we need to ensure that we protect those who are working in what are very difficult circumstances. If they are not safe, it will be impossible for the children in their care to be safe. I have brought up this issue with the children's committee. I requested that there would be a site visit, but beyond that, there are many questions to be answered. We need to ensure we have the correct protocols for dealing with issues of assaults and ensure there are sufficient staff and protection for those working there and that we ensure safety in Oberstown. I ask the Minister of State to bring this back to the Minister.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

The Minister and I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Department and I will bring his concerns back to the Minister. In the medium term, there has been a significant increase of €5.75 million in capital funding for Oberstown under the National Development Plan 2026-2030. This sustained investment reflects the Government's commitment to ensuring the campus is properly resourced and projects are under way that will alleviate occupancy pressures. However, in terms of the current dispute, the Department remains committed to supporting efforts to resolve the matter as quickly as possible and urges continued engagement through established industrial relations channels.

The safety and well-being of young people and staff at Oberstown remain the overall priority of the Minister and Oberstown management. In the context of the work-to-rule action, the Minister wishes to reassure the Deputy that the management has put in place contingency arrangements which will be monitored closely to ensure that essential services continue and that standards of safety are upheld. Since the certified capacity of Oberstown was amended in March, Department officials and Oberstown's management have been engaging intensively, including holding weekly meetings to monitor progress. The welfare of children in detention is a priority for the Oberstown management, who will ensure that children continue to receive appropriate care, supervision and support. They will also ensure that staff are protected and supported in their roles and that the campus always operates within safe parameters. I will end by wishing the parties well ahead of their engagement on Monday.

Language Schools

Deputy Ruth Coppinger

Student Campus college in Limerick suddenly closed last week, leaving hundreds of international students and staff in limbo. I was contacted by people in Limerick to raise this issue. Approximately 250 students were already studying in the school, with reports that over 300 additional students had paid fees before travelling to Ireland. Students were left with uncertainty regarding their education, tuition fees and immigration status. Student Campus college on the interim list of eligible programmes, ILEP, approved providers list. This list is provided by the Minister for justice for approved programmes. The school stated it had learner protection through an academy-plus arrangement with the trade organisation Progressive College Network. This is a type of insurance that if the school fails to offer courses, alternative arrangements will be made. There have been reports indicating that a plan is under way for the school to reopen under new ownership or management, with the aim of allowing students to finish the courses they have paid for. I do not know if the Minister of State has clarity on this. The school lost its PON status in June and no learner protection has been issued since May. It is unclear, going forward, how that will operate under new ownership. It is simply being stated that there is an emergency fund that existed from previous owners and a reliance on insurers doing the right thing.

Teaching staff have reportedly been offered their positions back if they teach under the temporary arrangements. Already, there are unpaid wages owed to teachers since the closure and there is a distrust from teachers about this school, with teachers saying they do not trust the organisation. There is still no clarity on the reopening date either, and whether all students will be accommodated or what options will exist for students seeking refunds and transfers.

There are broader issues here. Oversight of English language schools has been an issue for a long time, particularly regarding the adequacy of the learner protection arrangements and the safeguards for international students. These types of schools are invariably privately owned, with a lack of regulation in the sector. In May, 250 students in Monaghan were still asking for refunds from one of those schools after their reapplications for visas were rejected. What immediate steps is the Government taking to protect the students affected by the closure in Limerick? How exactly will the Government improve the English language school sector to ensure that international students are protected? The issue is not about this being a back door, which the Minister made a statement about recently. The implication was that some use the language schools to get visas. It is about ensuring that international students can be protected. God knows, many of their families will have scrimped and saved for them to come here to learn English and improve their lives.

What about the staff working in these schools? I know Unite The Union was making attempts to unionise staff following on from a previous closure. I would certainly encourage all workers to get involved in a union so that they have protection. What is the Government doing to stop this uncertainty for students and staff happening in the future?

Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Deputy Catherine Ardagh)

I thank the Deputy for her question. The students, prospective students and teachers are in a very difficult situation. What is really important now is that we have a clear information stream going to the students so they know what is going on. The Department is aware of the current issues regarding Student Campus college in Limerick. Officials in my Department and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are monitoring the ongoing and evolving situation. They will provide information in relation to the status of any affected students' immigration permissions in due course.

I can advise the Deputy that in order for a non-EEA national student to register for a stamp 2 immigration permission, they must enrol in and commence a course of study from the interim list of eligible programmes. Education providers such as Student Campus college are required to have met certain standards and requirements to have their programmes included on the ILEP and be accredited by recognised Irish awarding bodies. All providers must remain in compliance with the relevant criteria to retain a listing on the ILEP. Instances of non-compliance may, and have, resulted in the removal of schools from the ILEP.

When 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, any change in locations or additional centres, changes to their academic management or teachers, and student capacity numbers. It should be noted that the relationship between a student or agent and any education provider is private and contractual. My Department has no function in relation to disputes between students, agents and their education providers in seeking refunds, course transfers or other rebates. Having said that, I understand that the Department of further education is very much aware of the situation and I note from the Deputy's contribution that the standard of English-language courses and our reputation as a provider of such courses is of concern.

Additionally, I can inform the Deputy that the ILEP is being superseded by TrustEd Ireland, the international education mark launched in September 2024 by Quality and Qualifications Ireland and our colleagues in 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. The new mark will be awarded to higher education and English-language education providers that have demonstrated that they meet national standards. This will 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 and we expect decisions to issue in the coming months.

Deputy Ruth Coppinger

Maybe it is time that the State get involved in this rather than leaving it to any private individual or private company to set up a language school, take money off desperate people who want to come here and learn English, and then just go away with that money. The Minister of State has said there is no function for the Department here. I only got this answer handed to me as the Minister of State started reading it. It really would be helpful if we could get these replies in advance.

People were happy to take fees from international students and the moneys international students bring here, which is a significant amount. They pay rent and so on. However, there does not seem to be any checks of whether these schools have reserves of funds - for example, to pay staff wages - or whether there is something like a sinking fund. Are there no checks and balances that can be done?

This is not the first time. Student Campus college is not a new offender. There was a report that an Algerian man is owed €2,137, has been waiting 14 months and still has not gotten it back. What does the Minister of State's Department do when complaints like that are made? The school is allowed to continue to operate and advertise itself as a provider. As the Minister just said, Ireland has this great reputation for English-language tuition.

There seems to be light-touch regulation again and again by this Government. The way the system is structured is leading to this as well because we know people have to register at a school and then apply for the visa. There is an incentive there. I am not saying this is the case with Student Campus college, by the way, to quickly clarify that. However, people who are not honest brokers could set up a business, get money from people and then exploit them.

Deputy Catherine Ardagh

I note the Deputy's points. We cannot allow profiteering on foot of students whose families have made huge sacrifices to send them to Ireland to learn English. The new TrustEd Ireland quality mark will hopefully provide a better regulated environment for providers so that when people are coming to Ireland they will be able to come here with the assurance that their college will be well accredited and from that will flow the stamp 2 visas in the correct format.

Obviously, my Department has responsibility for immigration matters solely. Any sort of contractual disputes in relation to providers would have to be dealt with in a different forum. I fully appreciate that any students affected are seeking certainty at what is undoubtedly, especially for students already in Ireland, a very difficult time. I assure the Deputy that my Department is continuing to monitor the situation closely.

As I have outlined, all education providers with programmes listed on the ILEP are required to have learner protection insurance arrangements in place as part of their criteria for inclusion on the list. These arrangements are intended to provide protections for learners where a provider is unable to deliver a programme as planned.

More broadly, the transition from ILEP to TrustEd Ireland represents a significant strengthening of the quality framework for international education in Ireland. As this new framework is implemented over the coming months, it will further strengthen confidence in Ireland's international education sector while ensuring that students can continue to choose Ireland knowing that appropriate quality assurance and learner protection measures are in place. I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter today.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Thursday, 2 Jul 2026