Language Schools
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

On one hand, the Government says English language schools are a tick-box exercise to allow people to get work permits. The Minister of State has indicated this evening that a number of people are securing stamp 2 visas, which are in effect precarious work visas. I think the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has confirmed that. However, levels of inspections are minimal and no school has been closed as a result of those assertions. The ESRI Asylum and Migration Overview 2024 was published just in December. It highlighted the example of Brazilian migration to Ireland in a study that illustrated the precarity and exploitation of Brazilians working in Ireland on stamp 2 visas. The author of that study argued that the stamp 2 visa, though a study visa in name, acted as a precarious work visa as well. When will the Government stop talking about this and what will it do about it?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27