Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
771. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which the ISD can audit schools, if it cannot generate a list of students enrolled in each institution at any given time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4447/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra772. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which the ISD can enforce attendance compliance, if it cannot reconcile student permissions to school registers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4448/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra773. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which the ISD can verify that a school is not exceeding its declared ILEP/TrustEd capacity, if it cannot extract student numbers by provider; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4449/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra774. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which his Department conducts internal audits of student permissions issued, if it cannot extract datasets of students by educational institution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4450/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra775. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reconciliation controls that exist to compare visas issued under a provider’s name against that provider’s declared capacity and enrolment totals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4451/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra778. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reason schools cannot access a list of visas issued under their name to verify fraudulent use of their institution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4455/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra779. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department will implement a secure portal and verified code system in order that only schools can confirm enrolment documents for visa renewals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4456/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra782. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the controls that exist within ILEP/TrustEd to prevent a provider doubling or trebling in size within a short period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4503/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra783. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of schools that increased declared capacity by more than 50% between 2019 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4504/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 771, 772, 773, 774, 775, 778, 779, 782 and 783 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to publish a National Migration and Integration Strategy detailing how the Government intends to meet the demands and opportunities facing Ireland’s society and economy over the next decade. My Department is currently working with other colleagues in Government Departments to develop this strategy with the aim to publish it this year.
As part of this strategic approach, I am reviewing the area of student permissions, including with regard to English Language students. This work is aimed at ensuring that the system remains robust and rules-based, supports high-quality education providers, and continues to offer a positive experience for genuine students coming to Ireland.
International students from outside the EU/EEA are granted a residence permission on Stamp 2 conditions where they have enrolled on, and commenced a course listed on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP), or eligible programmes offered by providers with authorisation to use the new TrustEd Education mark awarded by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).
An education provider can only enrol non-EEA national students who hold a valid student immigration permission. My Department holds information regarding the number of people registered at each particular educational institution but this is not published as this could be considered commercially sensitive.
Providers are required to submit template information on a weekly basis to my Department. This includes data on enrolments, attendance rates and expulsions; all such information received from providers is stored on my Department's operating system. In the event that a student is not attending a course of study, or is expelled, my Department will investigate each individual case accordingly.
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 their residence status.
The ILEP was introduced as a more restrictive list of education programmes eligible for student immigration purposes, used as a reference point for the immigration function of my Department in considering visa and residency applications from non-EEA applicants wishing to study on a full-time basis in Ireland.
To retain a listing on the ILEP, providers are required to keep within the criteria laid down in the ['Arrangements applying to English Language Programmes, Higher Education Programmes and Foundation Programmes from 1 October 2015 (updated 21 March 2025)']
Education providers must identify how programmes and students are accommodated and the resources available, including details of:
• The maximum number of enrolled students the provider can accommodate.
• The number of classrooms and capacity of each at each centre.
• The facilities available to students at each centre, adequate for the maximum number of students.
• The facilities available to academic staff at each centre, including spaces for the preparation of lessons.
• The duration of the current lease arrangements for the classrooms as set out above.
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.
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.
Inspections are only one piece of a suite of compliance activities. 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.
The number of Interim List of Eligible Programme (ILEP) English Language Providers that provided information about increased declared capacity by more than 50% between 2019 and 2023 are as follows:
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|
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Year: |
Number of ILEP English Language Providers: |
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2019 |
7 |
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2020 |
0 (Covid-19 restrictions affected provision for part of 2020) |
|
2021 |
0 (Covid-19 restrictions affected provision for part of 2021) |
|
2022 |
4 |
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2023 |
2 -- |
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. 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 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).
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 early this year.
