Language Schools
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-02
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Catherine Ardagh (FF), Dublin South-Central

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:14+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02