Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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3369. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagement his Department has had with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding the difficulties Palestinian students with scholarships to study in Ireland are having with obtaining visas in time to commence study; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42225/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy that officials in my Department regularly engage with colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on issues associated with Palestinian students, including in relation to the granting of third level scholarships and visa requirements that arise in that context.

As the Deputy will be aware, where an individual requires a visa to enter Ireland in any circumstance, they must apply to the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration which will review the application in accordance with Irish legislation and relevant administrative requirements.

I am advised that since the beginning of the crisis in Gaza, that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has supported 153 persons to leave Gaza and travel to Ireland, including a small number of students. On 17 July, 9 Palestinian students arrived in Ireland from Gaza for the 2025/26 academic year under the Government’s Ireland Palestine Scholarship Programme which is supported through Irish Aid.