Paul Murphy urges action after English-language students scammed
Paul Murphy pressed the Taoiseach during a debate on the National Reform Programme over reported scams targeting overseas English-language students. He demanded that existing protections be enforced after accounts that Latin American students lost life savings to travel companies.
Allegations of student scams
Paul Murphy said many Latin American and other international English-language students paid thousands of euros up front to travel companies like Travel Now on promises of placements that never materialised. He said students, when contacting English language schools, were told there was no record of their payments and had effectively been left without recourse.
Failures in enforcement
He argued the Department had failed to ensure its own rules were enforced, pointing to requirements such as an 85% attendance rule and provisions that fees should be placed in escrow accounts to protect students. He warned that without enforcement, companies could walk off with large sums and students could lose life savings.
Call for government action
Mr Murphy asked the Taoiseach what action the government would take to ensure students are protected and to prevent similar scams from recurring. He pressed for the current rules to be actively enforced so that students cannot be exploited.
Official response and next steps
The Taoiseach acknowledged the seriousness of the abuses, said those who perpetrate scams are responsible, and urged that incidents be reported to the Garda. He added he would raise the matter with the Department and noted the damage such scams do both to individuals and to the country's reputation.
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The National Reform Programme talks about students and I want to ask the Taoiseach what action is going to be taken to ensure that English language students from outside the country are protected and aren't allowed to be scammed again as has happened there's been scandalous cases whereby Latin American students have lost their life savings thousands and thousands of euros by travel companies like travel now who get the students to go and pay up front on the promise that when Covid restrictions lift we'll have paid for a place for you when the students contacted the English language schools they're told we have no record whatsoever so many many students have been scammed out of thousands of euros and the reason for it is because the department has failed to ensure that its own rules are enforced so for the students the rules are enforced they have to have an attendance of 85% but the rules state very clearly that the money should for example be placed in an escrow account so that this sort of scam can't happen that isn't what's been taking place and the result is companies will be able to walk off hundreds of thousands of euros from unsuspecting students who have lost their life savings as a consequence so will the government act to enforce the current rules so that this can't happen anymore and Deputy Murphy I would say this to you that scams fundamentally I mean I share your abhorrence of students being abused in that manner it's those who perpetrate those scams are fundamentally responsible for it without question and the enforcement of it is something that should be followed through and any swindling or any untoward behaviour should be reported and to the guardie in my sorry yeah well the guardie then must follow through and hold those people to account if people's money has been taken from them in respect of again in respect of products and I will talk to the department in relation to this because that is very bad for the individual's concern obviously because their money has been stolen and they're not getting what they thought they would be getting but it's very bad for the country as well in terms of reputation
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