Since the beginning of this year, more than 30 prospective international students have come forward to detail how they were effectively scammed. After having their visa applications refused, they were denied refunds by the English language schools here that they had paid for places they cannot now take up. They have no protection, even though they paid upfront in good faith and followed the process. Some have lost out on thousands of euro in fees and have been left to chase refunds from providers based in different countries. The Irish Council for International Students and my Labour colleague Senator Laura Harmon, who has been working on this, have pointed out that the protective framework, TrustEd Ireland, is toothless. Will the Government act to regulate the English language school sector here in order to ensure that prospective students will be protected rather than being left to foot bills that they should not be liable to pay?

Sentiment score: 0.14

I thank the Taoiseach.

Sentiment score: 0.36