Education and Training Provision

Tuesday, 16 December 2025

Ceisteanna (1161)

Alan Kelly

Ceist:

1161. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the courses in English as a second language currently available for EU and non-EU citizens resident in Ireland; the number of adults who have availed of such courses over the past five years before being granted right to remain; and the number of adults who have availed of such courses over the past five years before achieving Irish citizenship. [71528/25]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Deputy James Lawless)

In the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, all 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) offer free English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, as part of their Adult Literacy provision, to meet the day-to-day social, cultural and work-related language needs of new community members. Priority is given to unemployed migrants, International Protection Applicants (IPAs) and refugees with limited or no English language skills. The goal is to help them achieve functional language proficiency, fostering social cohesion and creating pathways to education, training, pre-vocational opportunities, and work.

ESOL provision is available at all levels, from beginner to advanced. Courses be unaccredited or accredited at levels 1 to 6 of the National Framework for Qualifications or through other systems such as Cambridge English Qualifications.

SOLAS has advised my officials that provisional figures from its Programme Learner Support System (PLSS) reports that from January until end of November 2025, ETBs have provided 4,572 ESOL courses.

It is important to note that PLSS does not collect data on the numbers availing of such courses before being granted leave to remain. However, SOLAS has provided provisional PLSS figures relating to the enrolment of IPAs in ESOL since 2022 in the table below.

Unique Learner Enrolments in ESOL	2022	2023	2024	End of November 2025
IPAs	1,522	3,211	4,555	3,949

Comparable data for 2020 and 2021 is not available.

PLSS does not gather data from learners relating to Irish citizenship. However, the following provisional PLSS figures may be of interest to the Deputy.

Unique Learner Enrolments in ESOL	2021	2022	2023	2024	End of November 2025
Non-nationals	7,949	16,619	38,693	36,913	28,042

Comparable data for 2020 is not available. Not all learners provide information about their nationality.

Since the onset of the war in Ukraine in early 2022, the FET sector mobilised rapidly to support Ukrainian refugees, particularly through the significant scaling up of ESOL courses. This impact is clearly demonstrated in the figures presented in the table above.