Vol. 492 No. 2
140 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce a separate study visa which would give our native English as a foreign language industry an edge on the highly-competitive world English as a foreign language market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13829/98]
141 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will appoint a separate officer within the visa section to deal with the processing of student visas in view of the increasing importance of English as a foreign language industry. [13830/98]
142 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of student visas, long and short-term, granted by his Department in the past year. [13831/98]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 140, 141 and 142 together.
My Department does not keep records of visa applications according to purpose of visit and it would take a disproportionate amount of time to provide information on the number of student visas which have issued in the past year.
I am conscious of the significance of the English language industry in terms of foreign earnings, employment and Ireland's profile abroad. Of course, in the case of many countries the requirement for a visa does not arise. In those where it is required, my Department is committed to facilitating bona fide students in so far as is possible, while guarding against the risk that persons overstay illegally.
To this end, my Department liaises on a regular basis with individual schools, is represented on the Advisory Council for English Language Schools and has established good channels of communication with industry associations. Officials from my Department have met industry representatives on three occasions to date this year and I intend that this liaison will be ongoing and productive. One of the practical results of this co-operation has been the agreement of expanded guidelines for those involved in applying for visas for study which should issue shortly.
The possibility of introducing special arrangements for the issue of visas for the purpose of study could be discussed in this forum, if industry representatives so wish. However, regard would have to be had to EU regulations on visa formats and to the possibility that such separate arrangements might give rise to requests from other groups for specialist visas with the end result of unnecessarily complicating the visa system and contributing to delays.
