Senator John McGahon- speech from 9 May 2023

Thank you very much. Minister, on the outset, the concept of this commencement day, it looks somewhat technical, but I just want to give you the context as to why I'm raising it. I'm raising it as for a visit from Minister Peter Burke and I to Colosch to Coholland, a secondary school in Dundalk in County Laud last week, ahead of Europe Day today. And that school is really, well, first of all, it's one of Dundalk's newest schools, but it is really quite an incredible school because there are 44 different languages in the school from a student body, and it really is representative of what Ireland's schools of the future are going to look at throughout the next decade. And this is why I'm raising this issue, because it affects every post-primary school in the state, of which there's about 760. And curriculums throughout all secondary schools are rich and broad curriculums. And one of the ways that you can enhance a student's experience, I believe, in secondary school is by visiting foreign countries, by visiting different cultures, by visiting different societies. And indeed, in some of the very trips that I ever first went on abroad, it was through secondary school and the ability I had with that. And the European Union has provided for this at the same time. In 1994, the Council of Europe agreed to an initiative by then, the then Federal Republic of Germany, and that was that students legally resident in a member state, but not a national of an EU member state, could travel on these education trips within the European Union and not require a visa. And that has been the rule of law since 1994 in the European Union. So let's put that into practical terms, I suppose, what does that terms, what does that actually mean? It means that a 16-year-old Irish resident student studying in a school in Ireland with a non-EU passport is allowed to travel on a school educational trip anywhere within the European Union without a visa. And that has been there since I said since 1994. So there should be no anxiety for any of these students about whether they can make these school trips or not, depending on what country they're going to. And I'll give you an example. This month, for example, in Closico Holland, there are a group of students who are going on one of their first abroad trips to Italy. And the Italian embassy in Dublin have been really, really proactive and really fantastic to say that, look, you guys don't need visas to travel here. But unfortunately, the experience with other embassies and other countries, and I won't name them here, have not been the same, where other countries have insisted that visas are required. And that goes contrary to the rules here from the 1994 article. So it's not been enforced fairly across the board. And naturally then, this causes a lot of concern for students from different backgrounds who are resident in Ireland, don't have an EU passport, and then are perhaps not allowed to travel on these trips in secondary school. So the embassy at that occasion did highlight that they believed, and this is their view, that a number of Irish secondary schools were actually unaware of this 1994 article. They didn't realise it existed. They believed that they needed visas. And that they have tried to say that, look, we should make sure as many are informed as possible. And that's why I'm bringing this to the Senate today, Minister, in the hope that we can look for three things that we could do to consider it. I would really request the annex to the agreement as updated, to take into account that ID and passport documents that are now electronic, are now electronic and be referenced better. Secondly, I would request that all EU member states issue a communication to their various embassies, reiterating and publicising anew the positive agreements that were made in this arrangement back in 1994. And finally, I think it would be important to work with our colleagues, in the Department of Education in particular, to make sure that this information is getting out there to schools right across the way. I think that would be really helpful in removing this level of anxiety and red tape that secondary schools are experiencing throughout the country. Thank you. I want to thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the attention of Minister Harris. The Senator is where Ireland, as a member of the European Union, offers freedom of movement to nationals of the European Economic Area and certain family members. The relevant EU legislation in this regard is the directive on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. On 30 November 1994, the Council of the EU adopted a Council decision on a joint action adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K32B of the Treaty on the European Union concerning travel facilities for school pupils from third countries legally resident in a Member State. This allows school children from third countries who are resident in a Member State to visit or transit another Member State of the EU if travelling as a member of a school group without the need to obtain a visa. To qualify under this measure, the pupils must be legally resident in a Member State. The pupils must be travelling in an organised school group seeking entry into another Member State for a short stay or transit. The school must be a general education school, but the concession does not apply to specialist institutions. The group must be accompanied by a teacher from the school, and the pupils in detail and the purpose of the journey must be listed on the common format form, list of travellers forms issued by the school. The application form is available on the Immigration Service website. Travel, particularly as part of a school trip, is widely recognised as being incredibly valuable and beneficial to children and young people's development, and it exposes them to different cultures and languages. It informs their understanding of the world of history and builds empathy with other people's way of life. For many young people, travel is not an option outside of a school trip. School trips are therefore an affordable, engaging opportunity which can influence their educational development. The council decision has facilitated easier travel for non-EU students studying in Ireland to travel throughout the EU, and also for thousands of non-EU students residing in other Member States to come and visit Ireland as part of their school trips. I think the Senator is very much aware of the technical side of it, but I hear what the Senator is saying, and I think some of the concern is more about students going from Ireland to other EU countries and perhaps embassies, not being fully aware in terms of the rights of those students from third countries. I will certainly raise the matter further with Minister Harris. I will also raise the matter with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and rightly so with the Department of Education as well, to alert schools to know that this is actually there. Knowing that this facility is there, that ease of travel would encourage schools to perhaps do more trips, knowing that there is not the same complexity they might be afraid of there. Of course today, being the EU day, and I was delighted to spend time at Rackle Road Primary School, myself this morning in County Wexford, the more travel we can encourage, the better the understanding of our countries within the European Union, and the benefits of that, the better. Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Senator McEhan. Thank you, Minister. And as I said, at the outset, when you are reading any sort of European legislation, you are wondering what does this actually mean? This came on 30 November 1994. And if you imagine it then, how many students would have been at a second level school in Ireland that would have had a non-Irish passport? It would have been much, much lower in 1994 than it is in 2023. So it is much more prevalent and important today. And I thank the Minister for what you have agreed to do here, which is just to recap. It is to ensure that every secondary school in Ireland, all 760 of them, know fully, fully aware that no visas are required within the European Union when on an educational trip. I think that will cut down a lot of stress and anxiety. And the other issue about it is, and I am not sure how we can do this, perhaps it should be the Minister in the Department of Foreign Affairs, is to make sure that every embassy knows that this is part of a European declaration from 1994 and it is simply not acceptable for some European embassies in this country to decide that they are not going to listen to it and that they are going to ignore it. Now, I am not going to mention them, but you have to turn around and say, is it a lack of their own knowledge to enforce this? So perhaps we just need to remind them that if you are a student in this country, you are allowed to go abroad regardless of whether you have an Irish passport or not. That is great. Thanks, Senator McGahan. Minister? Thank you very much. And again, thanks to Senator McGahan for raising this important matter. And I will certainly raise the matter further with Minister Harris. As the Senator is aware, Ireland, as a member of the State of the European Union, offers freedom of movement to the nationals of the European Economic Area and certain family members. And the relevant EU legislation disregard is a directive on the rights of citizens of the Union and their families to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. I again want to thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the attention of Minister Harris. And I advise that he has already passed your comments to officials working in the Department, who will now examine the matter further. And I would like to emphasise that any school in Ireland that is going abroad should check what requirement is with the host country and the airline, and these requirements can vary. Some countries require passports to have at least six months left on them from the date of planned departure before allowing entry into the country. And the Department of Foreign Affairs website has helpful information in this regard for teachers. Finally, I would like to wish a successful journey to the students in Kolosh, de Kukuln, Dundalk. And as I say, I would bring the matter to the attention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Education as well. Thank you. Thank you Minister.