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Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 18 Dec 2003

Vol. 174 No. 26

Adjournment Matters. - Language Schools.

Mr. Ross: I am grateful to the Cathaoirleach for his acceptance of this matter on the Adjournment. This is a sensitive matter because it touches on the Government immigration policy. There is a huge distinction between the various language schools which have been set up, of which certain schools are well established. This issue was brought to my attention by the Dublin School of English which has been established for more than 30 years and is owned by the Crossan family.
As some bad apples in the language school business use the schools as some sort of shop for work or stay visas, others are suffering. I ask the Government to introduce regulations to allow schools which make a good living and operate in a legitimate and honourable manner to operate on a commercial basis. At the same time it should introduce regulations to stamp out those which are exploiting the business to provide some sort of cover to allow people stay here longer than Government policy allows. The Government has been unable to resolve this problem with its current regulations. Not only are the people who come here suffering, the schools, their commercial well being and the families of those who run them are also suffering. How does the Minister intend to resolve this problem?
The Dublin School of English has brought it to my attention that almost identical applications for visas to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform have been refused in certain cases while others have been accepted. It appears a random numbers game is being played in order to keep numbers down and reduce the dangers of people coming into the country for improper purposes. However, a crude instrument is being used to make selections. I ask the Minister to fine tune the selection process in order that established schools and those who run them for the benefit of those who use them and the country can continue to go about their business.
More often than not, the reasons given for refusal of visas are inexplicable and vague or not relevant or applicable to the application. For example, a refusal may be made on account of insufficient documentation but no explanation is given as to what is missing from the application. A refusal might also be based on the belief a student will not return home without any basis for this belief or on the fact that a student is enrolled in a university in his or her home country.
Applications are often lost. There is a large backlog and it is almost impossible to get through on the telephone to the visa office. There are bureaucratic problems which are unforgivable and inexcusable. Correspondence from the office is frequently unsigned with the result that one does not know who processed the application, thereby hampering further inquiries.
The appeals process, supposedly in place, is a farce and insufficient. An appeal is lodged to the same office and dealt with by an unnamed appeals officer. A revision of the initial decision is virtually unheard of. In other words, the process does not appear to involve a real appeal; it involves the original decision being rubber stamped.
There have been occasions when language schools operated as visa sale shops, which is inexcusable. It is right to crack down on these operations. However, I ask the Minister to consider this matter in the light of the fact that Enterprise Ireland has spent a lot of money promoting Irish language schools in China and Russia. It is a pity that another arm of government is crippling the ability of the Dublin School of English and others to attract students for a period to learn English.
The evidence suggests that the business is moving overseas to Malta, the United Kingdom and the USA because of the difficulties encountered and the slow process involved in getting visas. The students concerned are from Mongolia, Russia and China, for whom a whole new world has opened up, as indeed it has for us. That should be encouraged rather than discouraged. It is not enough to have an investigation. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform should introduce a list of legitimate schools and a licensing system should be set up that would be regulated consistently and fairly. When applications for work visas come from these schools, they should be dealt with more quickly, with the application of transparent criteria about which all are informed.
I also ask that the visa office make itself more accessible and accountable. To trade in this market, the Irish businesses concerned need to have a higher proportion of visas granted than at present.
Mr. Parlon: On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who cannot be here tonight, I am pleased to respond to the matters raised by Senator Ross. It is difficult to deal comprehensively with all of the aspects of the international marketing of the Irish education product within the context of a debate of this nature. However, I will deal with some key points which are central to the Senator's motion.
First, approximately 18,000 non-EEA national students currently reside legally in this jurisdiction. In April 2001, the Department pioneered an important initiative which greatly assisted in the marketing of the Irish education product abroad. The effect was to allow students to take up casual employment, defined as up to 20 hours part time work per week or full time work during vacation periods, for the duration of their permission to remain. This is not a work study system. It is a study system which embodies work relaxation elements which are primarily intended to facilitate foreign students, both in social terms and improving their language skills.
The second point relates to the distinction the Senator draws between legitimate English language schools and others. Unfortunately, the problem cannot be neatly pigeon-holed and dealt with on the basis of that distinction. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has no statutory function in the regulation of English language schools. The Advisory Council for English Language Studies – ACELS – was established under the auspices of the Department of Education and Science to control standards in English language schools through an inspection and recognition scheme.
This is a non-statutory, voluntary scheme. Its principal objective is the development of high quality education service standards, rather than compliance on the part of students or schools with immigration requirements as such. Many English language schools in Ireland are certified under the ACELS scheme and the Department certainly welcomes such participation. However, as there is no obligation in law to obtain recognition to operate this type of business, it does not follow that not doing so implies the school is not a genuine one or that the Department can simply refuse to deal with individuals seeking to study there. In addition, it is not the case that the students with whom the Department has had difficulties are entirely confined to schools which have not attained ACELS recognition.
The third point relates to the calibre of the students themselves. Abuse of the student visa system is customer driven. It cannot operate where a student is genuinely study-orientated. Accordingly, it is reasonable to ask how schools seek to recruit genuine students. In the main, schools teaching English as a foreign language use foreign agents to recruit students to come to Ireland. The agent is a business operator who is financially motivated and may have on his or her books a number of students who wish to travel overseas.
In addition to the commission they receive from schools or colleges in Ireland, agents often take a fee for their service from the prospective student. In China, for example, the service they provide includes matching a student with a course programme of study in Ireland, advice on visa requirements, translation of documents, assistance with application letters and liaison with the embassy or consulate. The Irish school does not vet the visa application prior to its submission to the visa office. Irish visa officers in China have been told by certain agents that their services include the procurement of fraudulent documents and temporary funds to comply with visa requirements.
I will now turn to the mechanisms in place to deal with abuse of the system. In the first place, the visa determination process is more rigorous than ever and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform also now employs its own staff in both Beijing and Moscow. Second, the Garda registration system is now fully computerised and work has begun on computerisation of the Department of Foreign Affairs visa system worldwide. Systems which facilitate easier retrieval of data are more efficient in combating fraud and the provision of customer service.
The visa system, which issued 10,000 visas last year, is clogged up with bogus applications. The Garda national immigration bureau visits schools to the extent that its resources allow and, as a result of these efforts, there are a number of schools in respect of which visa applications are no longer accepted. There is also a regime in place whereby an over-stayer who is not in a position to show that he or she is currently attending a school will not be in a position to get a re-entry visa for Ireland if he or she wishes to go home on vacation. An employer who employs a non-EEA national who no longer has permission to remain as a student, is in breach of the provisions of the Employment Permits Act 2003 and liable to a fine of up to €250,000. There are cases where persons who have breached their student conditions have been deported from the State.
In addition, the Minister for Education and Science has, on foot of a Government decision, established an interdepartmental group with the remit of considering all aspects of the promotion of Irish education abroad. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is represented on that committee. To date, in accordance with its mandate, the group has consulted with a wide range of groups including MEI-RELSA, the representative body for the English language sector. The group will report to Government on its deliberations. On the basis outlined, I assure the House that the English language industry is an area kept under active review in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
Mr. Ross: I thank the Minister of State for his reply, which I understood and with much of which I agree. However, I must ask what proposals the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has with a view to allowing those schools with long records and without any question of illegitimate activity, to go about their business without being penalised as though they were in the same category as those who are operating illegitimate language schools as a cover for people to stay and work here.
Mr. Parlon: I will convey the Senator's concerns to the Minister when I meet him tomorrow morning.
The Seanad adjourned at 6.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 19 December 2003.
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