942. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide guidance regarding a query in relation to reimbursement of course fees from a language school (details supplied). [53624/26]

My Department is aware of the closure of the English language education provider in question.

As a private provider, it does not come under the remit of my Department. Nor does my Department have a role in issues arising from a private contract between a student and a provider.

However, such a closure creates uncertainty which has a significant impact on the learners, prospective students, and staff of that provider.

My Department has called on the owners of the provider to engage with its learners, staff and stakeholders to provide clarity on the current situation as well as with key authorities such as the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).

For a provider to be eligible to recruit students from non-EEA countries, the provider’s courses must be included on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP). The ILEP is administered by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in conjunction with my Department.

The provider in question was an ILEP listed provider. Under the ILEP, providers are obliged to have established policies and procedures for the refund of fees and a student complaints procedure. For the handling of advance payments dependent on the visa process, providers listed on the ILEP must operate an escrow/delayed payment account with a payments institution authorised by a designated competent authority under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 or a separate client visa/escrow account with a financial body regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Funds must remain in this account until the student’s visa application is determined. If the visa application is refused, the funds, less any pre-indicated handling charge, must be returned to the student within 20 working days of the decision being received by the provider.

The ILEP regulations concerning international payments holding service or a separate client visa account are not applicable in the case where a student engages the services of a third-party agent and where advanced payment(s) are paid to that agent. There is presently no national regulation of such agencies as many entities of this type are based in other jurisdictions and operate outside of the State.

In cases where the processes have been exhausted with the provider directly, complaints can be directly to the Immigration Delivery Service of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration by emailing: []mailto:internationaleducationproviders@justice.ie

ILEP listed providers are also required to have arrangements in place for the protection of enrolled learners. These arrangements are to protect learners in the event that a provider fails, closes or is unable to deliver an ILEP-listed programme. In this case, the provider published that it has had arrangements in place via an insurance product.

My Department is currently working with QQI to introduce a robust regulatory framework for the English language education sector.

A new international education quality mark, TrustEd Ireland, is being implemented under the remit of QQI. The new TrustEd Ireland scheme establishes, for the first time, a formal statutory quality assurance process for the English language education sector in Ireland.

To obtain the mark, providers must undergo due diligence assessing their capacity and capability to deliver quality-assured programmes, participate in the statutory Learner Protection Fund, and comply with an associated Code of Practice including key criteria on information provision, student welfare, and academic support. English language providers are required to undergo a site inspection as part of their assessment of Code compliance.

All English language education providers holding the mark are subject to a statutorily required formal review at least once every three years. Providers must also submit a monitoring report every 18 months. QQI may withdraw a provider’s authorisation to use the mark where it considers that the provider no longer complies with the Code.

An announcement of the first group of 28 higher education institutions to be awarded the TrustEd Ireland statutory quality mark was made on 4th February 2026. Assessment is ongoing of the first window of TrustEd Ireland applications from English language education providers. This process is expected to be completed in the summer months and with the successful applicants announced shortly thereafter.

In parallel, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration will continue to monitor learner compliance with immigration law. Monitoring activities can include inspections of providers at any time, including monitoring attendance requirements.