Response to the Government's Outline Proposals for an Immigration and Residence Bill

July 2005

ICOS was established in 1970 to promote the welfare of international students in Ireland and its mission is to enhance the quality and the benefits of international education in Ireland by providing expert support services to international students and the institutions which host them. ICOS is an independent, non-profit organisation with members made up largely of representatives of Irish universities and institutes of technology.

ICOS welcomes this opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the Government's Immigration and Residence proposals. ICOS believes that immigration into this country is a permanent and positive reality. ICOS supports any attempt to make our immigration policies more transparent, accessible, and respectful of the human rights of all prospective migrants including international students. ICOS will focus its comments on elements of the proposals that refer to admission for the purposes of study which draw on the earlier report of the inter-departmental group on the Internationalisation of Irish Education Services published in November, 2004.

We note that the Minister for Education and Science has emphasized the need to recruit more international students and ICOS supports welcomes the Government's intention that the immigration system should support the education sector in attracting more international students to Ireland. In this context it is important to remember that international students bring many benefits to this country and to our host institutions. Although revenue created as a result of international education is a factor to consider, these benefits go well beyond commercial considerations. Transparent and consistent rules and efficient processing of genuine applications will all have an impact on Ireland's ability to recruit these students and to gain comparative advantage in what is a very competitive world market. Other factors such as access to the labour market and rules governing the admission and work rights of spouses will also be important in attracting or deterring international students.