8 April 2004
Dr. Henry: This Adjournment matter refers to an administrative problem. Eurocollege Institute of Education operates as the only dedicated medical English-language training school in either Ireland or Britain. It is one of fewer than ten such specialist schools in the world. It has a close educational alliance with Trinity College's school of midwifery, which provides practical advice and assistance to the school on nursing educational issues, as well as allowing the school to use its clinical training laboratories for certain elements of the teaching programme.
At present, there are just over 50 postgraduate students in the school, who have graduated from universities, medical colleges and medical schools outside the European Union. They are undertaking postgraduate study programmes in the school. This month the school hopes to recruit even more students in Korea and India. It hopes to have approximately 200 medical and nursing students next year and the figure may rise to approximately 400 in subsequent years.
It is a requirement that students at the school should be issued with a residency stamp by the Garda national immigration bureau. However, since December 2003, there has been confusion about this procedure. The Garda national immigration bureau has refused to issue the required residency stamps for students undertaking medical English-language study programmes at Eurocollege. As of today, there is a total of 29 students attending Eurocollege, who cannot gain the required residency stamps.
The problem is that someone seems to think that the students require work permits to study here. All that is needed is a letter from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment stating that work permits are not required by them. The work permits information leaflet, published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, states that "all persons residing in the State are required to have up-to-date residency stamps. Without these stamps a person is considered to be residing illegally and is potentially liable for deportation". It also states that "work permits are not required for the following: postgraduate students, where the work is an integral part of the course of study being undertaken (a letter is required from the college stating that they are studying)."
One would think that all this should be in order because there has been contact between Eurocollege's director of operations, Mr. John McDonnell, and Superintendent Gerard Cadden of the Garda national immigration bureau. There seems to have been some hiccup in the situation, however.
Dr. Cecily Begley, who is the director of Trinity College's school of nursing and midwifery, and is also vice-dean of TCD's faculty of health sciences, has written to the TaŽ naiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, confirming that the people in question are postgraduate students and that clinical placement is an integral part of their course of study. Dr. Begley's letter, however, has not elicited any solution from the Department.
In addition, the work permits information leaflet states that
Non-EEA nationals who have permission to remain in the State as students will be entitled 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. As the primary purpose of their residence continues to be study, a work permit will not be required.
It goes on to explain that students who wish to continue in employment following the completion of their studies will be required to obtain a work permit. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know what is going on and this is causing great embarrassment to Eurocollege, which is trying to attract more foreign students. The college is also having problems regarding students who do not have the required residency stamp. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could outline why the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has not managed to resolve this issue.
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