The High Court has refused interim stays sought by Limerick Language Centre Limited and Erin School of English Limited, trading as Erin College, after their English-language programmes were removed from the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP). The colleges’ judicial review challenges to the removal decisions remain to be determined.
In a combined ruling, Mr Justice Ferriter said both colleges had raised an arguable case that the appeal decisions breached fair procedures. But he found the balance of justice weighed against suspending those decisions pending the full judicial reviews. The ruling concerned only interim relief; it did not determine whether the removals were lawful.
The court gave significant weight to the public interest in operating ILEP’s safeguards, including requirements to hold visa-dependent student fees in escrow and refund fees within 20 working days when a visa is refused. The judge said both colleges had admitted significant delays in refunds and expressed concern that fees paid through agencies had not been ringfenced. He stressed that these were views for the interim applications, not final findings in the judicial reviews.
The judge refused Limerick’s application decisively. Evidence before the court included a letter from a law firm representing a Pakistani agency, alleging that 29 students were owed just under €50,000 in refunds after visa refusals. Limerick’s director said the payments concerned refunds to an agency and fell outside ILEP, adding that two refunds had been processed and the college was working to resolve the balance. The judge said the material undermined an earlier sworn statement that all eligible refunds had been paid and raised concerns about the reliability of evidence and undertakings offered by Limerick. He also considered its claim of irreparable business harm overstated.
The judge also refused Erin’s application. He accepted that refusal of a stay could cause some business and reputational harm, but said the college had not substantiated its claim that it might have to close. The court heard that visa-dependent non-EEA students accounted for about 15% of Erin’s annual revenue. The judge weighed that potential harm against the public interest, admitted non-compliance and concerns about agency-sourced fees.
The court had granted interim protection to both colleges on 10 August, subject to conditions including refund and account requirements. Those interim protections were replaced by the ruling refusing the stay applications. The substantive judicial review proceedings continue.