The PIE: Ireland has also had its fair share of economic issues. How has that affected the industry?

DO: We had a moment when international students were seen as economic migrants. But because of our own economic downturn there aren’t jobs to be had so the profile of students who want to come here is more educational. There was the boom from 1997-2007 and during that time, reports proliferated of many student visa holders who were really restaurant workers. Now that whole dimension is gone.

 The PIE: So is it an advantage that there’s no work?

“When a country is in a serious financial problem, people rely on education as a way to get out of it”

DO: I suppose someone who’s very can-do can be inspired to come and study and then knock on doors and get work. The student visa allows them to work 20 hours a week and then full-time during their holidays. But we would never sell Ireland as an employment destination. Being able to work is just one of the factors that contribute to students being happy to come here.

The PIE: Will Irish schools benefit from the tighter visa policies in the UK?

DO: The amount of students will be negligible. Obviously someone else’s difficulties are an advantage but that’s negative promotion from our point of view. We would just be happy to get people to come here because they want to come to Ireland and for the quality of the programmes, not because they can’t get into the UK.

 The PIE: You’ve been in the industry for over 20 years; as CEO of MEI for three years and a school owner before that. How has the industry evolved?

“Because of our own economic downturn there aren’t jobs to be had so the profile of students who want to come here is more educational”

DO: It’s swings and roundabouts; there are things out of your control that can be beneficial or harmful. Markets fade and you find new ones. When I was working we had huge numbers from Mexico. It’s not a good market now because they have had lots of currency devaluations and culturally they’re very close to America. There was a period in the 90s when Ireland was very “in”. U2 and The Cranberries were big at the time and gave us a great international profile.

The PIE: What characteristics do you need to succeed in this industry?

DO: Adaptability, flexibility and being constantly aware of where your competitors are garnering business. Compared with our competitors, our scale is smaller. We have to be much more nimble. We have to run faster to keep at the same pace. But that’s the nature of things. You can be a small country of limited resources but exploit them fully.