Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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The urgent issue I am raising concerns 40 students who have secured places in Irish universities but are trapped in Gaza. These students have previously been told by the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv that their visa applications would be approved as they met all the necessary criteria and that they would be on the next evacuation flight. They have been waiting for over three months in the most severe and dangerous conditions without any updates or indications as to what the next steps are, what actions are being taken and why there are such delays in the evacuation process.

The students have shown formidable tenacity in the face of indescribable destruction and hardship, in the context of every university in Gaza having been destroyed, and have worked despite these circumstances to be accepted to Irish universities. This is deeply impressive. All of them have worked very hard during an ongoing genocide to earn these places. Their efforts are a testament to their steadfastness, their work ethic and the qualities that have already been noted and recognised by the corresponding universities and by the communities who are anxiously waiting to welcome them to Ireland. The application process required reviews of their transcripts, assessment of their English proficiency, letters of recommendation from living professors in order to qualify for the university places and to obtain scholarships in a number of cases. The visa application required that students demonstrate they would not be a financial burden to the State and they have shown this with support from scholarships and surrounding communities. They have met every single requirement for university placement and for visa applications and are now simply awaiting information on when those visas will be received and how evacuation from Gaza will be organised.

Even though there do not seem to have been Irish evacuation flights since April, other evacuation flights are still taking place. Just last Wednesday, another evacuation, including university students to other European countries, was carried out. The evacuees were taken via bus to the Karem Abu Salem crossing, through occupied Palestine and into Jordan, where they were flown to their respective countries. We know from this that evacuations are possible if the will is there.

Given that the academic term will start in September, I hope we can be provided with some useful information indicating that these students will be able to take up those places in September, especially given the unbearable uncertainty from day to day of their current living circumstances. What steps is the Department taking to ensure these students will be in a position to commence their studies in September? Is detailed information available in respect of evacuation flights or the steps being taken to arrange evacuation flights? Why have there been none since April? Are they scheduled? Are plans under way in relation to this? What are the necessary criteria to receive assistance from the Department? We have heard worrying references to a new layer for those who have already overcome such obstacles. It consists of additional criteria, different from what was in place in April, that they may need to meet in order to have basic assistance with this evacuation. Will be processes in place in the event of a ceasefire to expedite the evacuation from Gaza of these students and the others who are awaiting visas? As we know, it may be a very small window if it occurs. Have there been attempts to co-ordinate with other countries on shared evacuation flights or shared practices for same? Will any information be provided to the applicants to give them a sense of clarity? What has the engagement been between the Departments of foreign affairs and justice on these matters?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator. Ireland has consistently condemned the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza and continues to urge all parties to do everything possible to support efforts under way to reach agreement on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including Irish embassies and consulates worldwide, provides consular assistance to Irish citizens who get into difficulty abroad, in accordance with its consular assistance charter. The provision of consular assistance to Irish citizens is a cornerstone of the work of the Department.

I am acutely aware the situation in Gaza is appalling and deteriorating and I appreciate that those with a student scholarship for a higher educational institution in Ireland are desperate to take up their positions in the coming academic year. Ireland, as the Senator knows, has continued to steadfastly advocate for an urgent end to hostilities and for unimpeded humanitarian access. Ireland will continue to advocate on this matter on the international stage.

I appreciate the sentiments that have prompted the Senator to raise this matter but, as she will appreciate, the Department is extremely limited in its ability to provide consular assistance to non-Irish citizens. As she may be aware, exit from Gaza is dependent on receipt of permission from the relevant local authorities, both in Israel and, in certain circumstances, in neighbouring jurisdictions. Such permissions are outside the control of the Government of Ireland. Moreover, visa-required nationals wishing to travel to Ireland must apply to the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for a visa. Each visa application is reviewed in accordance with Irish legislation. Officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including in the Irish Embassy in Israel and the representative office of Ireland in Ramallah, have provided advice and guidance to individuals on these requirements over many months. Since the beginning of the crisis in Gaza, that Department has supported 153 persons to leave Gaza and travel to Ireland, including a small number of students. Where necessary, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been in direct contact with the Department of justice, but the overall responsibility for engaging with the Department of justice on visa matters rests with the individuals themselves.

This morning, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris, confirmed that nine Palestinian students had safely left Gaza yesterday and are due to arrive in Ireland today. They will take up scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year under the Government's Ireland-Palestine scholarship programme, which is supported through Irish Aid. The students will be supported by the Irish Council of International Students and the managing agency for the Ireland fellows programme in anticipation of their courses starting in September. Three other Ireland-Palestine scholarship fellows were supported to leave Gaza in April of this year, having been unable to exit in 2024. We also look forward to further fellows from the West Bank arriving in September. Currently, eight Ireland-Palestine scholarship fellows from Gaza from the 2024 intake are completing their master's degrees .

There are currently no plans to operate evacuation flights from Gaza. All Irish citizens who remain in Gaza and have contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade seeking assistance have been offered the opportunity to leave, but for a variety of personal reasons they have chosen to remain. I assure the Senator the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stands ready to assist all Irish citizens who remain in Gaza.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I am appalled. I realise the Minister of State has given us the text that people have been receiving in letters, which is that the Department is so busy it is limited in what it can provide to non-Irish citizens even if they have placements in Irish universities. I do not accept that. The idea that consular staff will deal only with Irish citizens, effectively, or those on a direct Irish scholarship is disgraceful in the current context. I ask the Minister of State not to bother talking about the position the Government claims to be taking on these matters. This is a direct shift in position from the kind of humane approach we took on Afghanistan and the kind of humane approach we were taking in April. It is clear the Government is now saying it is going to leave these people on their own, having overcome impossible obstacles and been told a few months ago that they would have access and support. They were told they could not apply for visas until the flights had been arranged and now we are hearing there are no plans for delivering any flights or working on any flights. They are on their own because the very busy embassy in Tel Aviv - I would ask what it has been doing for a long period in terms of the absolute silence from it over years of abuses in Gaza - is too busy to help 21 students not covered by a Government of Ireland scholarship. With all its means, it is too busy to assist them.I do not accept that the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Department of foreign affairs with all of its resources are too busy and overwhelmed to help 31 additional students take up their placements. I do not accept that. It is disgraceful and a shift in policy. What has changed? Why has the Government changed from this position? Is it a new hard approach we are trying to take? Are we using the most vulnerable example we can possibly find to create a new hardline approach? I am shocked.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has assisted 153 individuals in exiting Gaza. Where officials in the Department have received requests for assistance, they have reviewed each case within the context of the Department's consular assistance charter, which guides its overall consular assistance policy on the ongoing situation in Gaza and provides clear advice and guidance to these individuals. Those individuals the Department was in a position to assist have been assisted in exiting Gaza and travelling to Ireland.

I appreciate that this may be extremely disappointing for those who have a scholarship for an Irish university and have not been able to travel. However, as the Senator will appreciate, the Department, and Irish embassies and consulates worldwide, are extremely limited in the assistance they can provide to non-Irish citizens. I reiterate that Ireland continues to both bilaterally and at a multilateral level call on Israel to comply with international law, stressing the universal applicability of international law, including international humanitarian law. The nine Palestinian students who safely left Gaza yesterday are due to arrive in Ireland today andl take up their scholarships for the coming academic year under the Government's Ireland Palestine scholarship programme, which is supported through Irish Aid.

Up to 30 students from the West Bank and Gaza have benefited from these scholarships each year since it was established in 2019. It is a competitive scholarship for students with a bachelors degree who are resident in the occupied Palestinian territories. The application process is rigorous and highly competitive comprising of application forms, essays and interviews. The scholarship programme is committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants. I appreciate that this may be extremely disappointing for other students who have been awarded a scholarship for an Irish university and have not been able to travel. However, as the Senator will appreciate, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Irish embassies worldwide are extremely limited in the assistance we can provide to non-Irish citizens. I assure her that I will convey her sentiments to the Tánaiste.