Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue on behalf of Jehad Sabah. I welcome his daughter to the Visitors Gallery. I know and appreciate that this is a very difficult time for everybody. While I have an official response that I will go through, I will also address the seriousness of the issue. I will liaise with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, on this Commencement matter.

I express my sympathy to the Sabah family on the incredibly difficult circumstances they are encountering. There is no justification for the devastating loss of life and the attacks on civilians and healthcare services in Gaza. It is simply not justifiable. I am advised by the Minister for Justice that his Department is acutely aware of the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that his officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department of foreign affairs to ensure a co-ordinated national response to this volatile and evolving situation. This includes work to evacuate Irish citizens and their families, who may require visa assistance. Medical evacuation operations are extraordinarily difficult. In September last year, the Government approved Ireland's participation in an initiative to evacuate a number of sick children from Gaza for treatment and care, following an appeal from the World Health Organization. The initiative was organised under the EU civil protection mechanism, though it is the Department of Justice, supported by the Department of Health and the HSE, that facilitated the evacuation of children out of Gaza via Egypt. The first group of children arrived safely in December.

This was a very complex international operation, which required significant input and resources from a number of Departments, and indeed from countries and international organisations. I am advised by the Minister that unfortunately, his Department is very limited in the assistance it can provide to Palestinian nationals who wish to resettle in Ireland, unless they have an entitlement to move here under the existing legal migration pathways. The Embassy of Ireland in Israel is actively engaging with applicants, gathering the required documentation and ensuring the visa division of the Department has everything it needs to progress this issue.

I will convey the seriousness of this case and I will ask the Minister and the Department of Justice and indeed other Government agencies as well, to look into this case. I accept the genuineness of it and I accept the bona fides of what has been put before me. I will certainly liaise with the Department to see can we further assist.