Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1968. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to work which his counterpart at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure that a person (details supplied) is granted a student visa for Ireland in order to take up their studies, with a clear pathway to being added to the exit lists from Gaza. [41332/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that the application referred to was created on 12 April 2025. Supporting documentation was received in the Tel Aviv office on 14 April 2025 where it awaits examination and processing.

I can assure the Deputy that I am acutely aware of the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza and my Department has worked closely with colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure a coordinated national response to this volatile and evolving situation.

I can advise the Deputy that the application referred to was created on 12 April 2025. Supporting documentation was received in the Tel Aviv office on 14 April 2025 where it awaits examination and processing. Visa applications from Palestine are received by the Embassy of Ireland in Tel Aviv who process certain visa applications under delegated sanction on behalf of my Department. Officials in my Department’s Visa Division are in regular contact with the Embassy regarding visa applications from residents of Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Both Departments work together to ensure visa applications Palestinian nationals who meet the criteria to be granted a visa are, wherever possible, processed as swiftly as possible. The Embassy are actively engaging with applicants to gather the required documents to ensure that the Visa Division of my Department have everything needed to progress these applications.

I appreciate that those with a student scholarship for a higher educational institution in Ireland are eager to take up their positions in the coming academic year. However, my Department is extremely limited in the assistance it can offer to these students in relation to their visa applications and is unable to provide practical assistance to individuals regarding arrangements for evacuation from Gaza.

I understand that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Irish Embassies and Consulates, which are limited in the assistance they can provide to non-Irish citizens, are actively exploring options for the provision of assistance to individuals in Gaza who wish to travel to Ireland. This includes students who have been granted scholarships by Higher Level Institutions in Ireland for the upcoming academic year. Where a visa is required to enter Ireland, the relevant visa application will be reviewed in accordance with Irish legislation.

I further understand that exit from Gaza is dependent on receipt of permission from the relevant local authorities, both in Israel and in certain circumstances neighbouring jurisdictions. Such permissions are outside the control of the Government of Ireland.

The person referred to should continue to engage with Embassy of Ireland in Tel Aviv regarding their application. My Department publishes detailed guidelines regarding the requirements for student visas, which may be of assistance to the person concerned, this information is available here: