While we are waiting for the Minister, I will take this opportunity to give a warm welcome back to Senator Goldsboro. It is great to have her back and I hope she gets plenty of work done over the next few months. It is good to see her back. She is looking very well.

This morning I went to the dentist as I had to get a filling. He gave me an injection. It did not work therefore he gave me three injections so I am half paralysed on my face. He assured me that even an anaesthetic will not shut up a Senator so I will give it my best shot. I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter. I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. The Palestinian ambassador, Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, intended to be present but something came up. However, in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery, we have Dr. Emma Stokes, who has certainly worked hard on the Palestinian student visa issue, and my colleague, Cillian Walsh, who also is passionate about this issue.

As a university Senator, I am seeking clarity from the Minister for justice on the significant increase in refusals of long-stay student visas for Palestinian nationals, particularly those from Gaza, during 2026. At present, 58 students from Gaza, who have secured their places in higher education institutions and have full practical and financial supports in place, have been refused visas. Of those, 28 hold full university scholarships while others have equivalent support through donors, family sponsorships, fee waivers and other arrangements. It is particularly concerning that 12 recipients of the Government of Ireland scholarships and Ireland-Palestine scholarship programme have been granted visas, while many others with similar or even stronger supports have been refused. These students are attempting to leave a war-torn area to pursue education in safety and their circumstances cannot be compared with those of other international students applying from stable jurisdictions. Yet, they appear to be assessed through the same process. Irish universities and colleges have worked to meet their obligations under our international commitments regarding displaced students and the recognition of the qualifications, however, many of the students are now facing appeals and that can take up to a year. Effectively, that denies them the opportunity of studying in the present academic year.

I have three questions to put to the Minister of State. First, what explains the very significant increase in refusals of Palestinian student visas between 2025 and 2026? In 2025 there were 25 refusals and in 2026 there have been 115 refusals. Second, will the Minister of State examine whether applications from Gaza require a more appropriate approach to documentation and evidence that recognises the extraordinary circumstances in which the students who have got their scholarships are living presently? Third, and perhaps most urgently, will the Minister of State examine a way of expediting the process for appeals so that the fully funded students, whose courses have already commenced or are about to commence, can know the result of their appeals? These are young people who have their whole lives ahead of them and they have earned their university places. They have scholarships and accommodation and they have financial support.

I know from talking to the various institutions – Dr. Emma Stokes has worked with Trinity College for years – that the institutions are waiting to welcome them. We can do so much more in this regard. I thank the Minister of State.

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. His dentist obviously did a very good job because he was well able to communicate.

I am very much aware of the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza. My Department continues to work closely with our colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure we have a co-ordinated national response to this situation. The Irish Government has been at the absolute forefront, particularly among European governments, in supporting Gaza. The genocide that is taking place in Gaza is appalling and I condemn it in the absolute strongest possible terms. Ireland has been very steadfast in its commitment to the people of Palestine, and that support will continue.

Palestinian nationals are required to have a visa and must have a valid Irish visa before they seek to enter Ireland. It is important to note that visa applications are part of a screening process. I know the Senator is aware of that. The process is designed to establish that a person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland prior to travel. All such applications undergo this process. There are no special arrangements for Palestinian students, or indeed students in any other conflict zone. There are other conflict zones that somehow do not ever seem to attract the same attention. No change has been made to the criteria that are being applied to the applications. That is the most important thing to put on record here.

Palestinian student visa applications are assessed against the same immigration requirements that we apply to all visa-required nationals seeking to enter Ireland. Each application is considered on its own merits, having regard to all the information, the documentation submitted, the circumstances of the applicant, the purpose of the proposed travel, previous immigration history where relevant and the requirements of Ireland's immigration policy and legislation. It is important to put on record that each application is examined on an individual basis.

The Senator referred to the increase in refusals compared with 2025. The refusal rates reflect the individual circumstances of the applications received rather than any change that we made to the criteria. Applications from Palestinian nationals are examined at first instance by the Embassy of Ireland in Tel Aviv, which processes 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 for residents of Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Both Departments work together to ensure that visa applications from Palestinian nationals who meet the relevant criteria are, wherever possible, processed as swiftly as possible.

Between 1 January 2026 and 15 September 2026, 50 study visa applications from Palestinian nationals were granted. A total of 115 were refused. I cannot comment on individual cases. The reasons for refusal are set out in detail for each applicant. I point out, on behalf of the very dedicated and hard-working staff who do this, that the reasons are not flimsy. Applications are individually assessed and reasons are supplied. However, I believe we need to be sure we have absolute clarity when dealing with vulnerable people in relation to the granting of an academic scholarship to make sure that the understanding exists that the granting of such a scholarship does not mean an automatic right to come to Ireland. That has never been the case.

I remind institutions and their staff who are dealing with vulnerable people in Palestine or, if they choose to, in Sudan, South Sudan or any other conflict zone that we have a duty of care to vulnerable people to explain fully to them how the visa process works. In practice, what is being proposed is that we actually waive visa criteria for individuals who have been selected by third level institutions on criteria that they have set without consultation with the State. The principal factors arising in refused cases have related to applicants' ability to meet established immigration requirements, including documentation and financial requirements, English-language requirements and the conditions attached to a study permission.

It is open to any applicant to appeal the process. Visa appeals are processed by my Department in accordance with established procedures and are considered by visa appeals officers following a full examination of the information. A number of appeals have now been received in respect of recently refused Palestinian student visas.

I thank the Minister of State. I hear what he is saying about there being other war-torn areas, but today I specifically want to deal with the 58 visa refusals for people from Gaza. Yesterday, The Irish Times told the story of 19-year-old Hazem Faris from Gaza. He secured a full scholarship to study computer science in SETU in Waterford. His fees, accommodation and living expenses were covered. He came from Gaza where his home was destroyed. He had been displaced several times. He had lost all his friends and neighbours, yet his visa was refused. Basically, it was refused because there was insufficient documentation. There were gaps in his education, employment history and insufficient evidence of obligations to return to his home country. My fear is that this is a young guy whose home country has been demolished. He has not got the paperwork or the evidence and is therefore judged on that.

The Minister of State mentioned how all cases are treated the same and a scholarship cannot guarantee a visa. However, the Lisbon Recognition Convention, to which Ireland is a party, allows HEIs and other arms to take a different approach. When the Department is looking at a visa application from the likes of Hazem Faris, how does a 19-year-old living through the most awful circumstances provide all of the documentation needed? How does somebody explain their present circumstances when they are coming from the likes of Gaza? I agree that Sudan and other areas are similar, but it is something we have to address.

Unfortunately, I have to begin by saying what the Senator has heard me say quite a few times. I cannot directly address an individual case. It is unfair to a person who is an applicant. It is unfair to ever engage in that type of scenario. We have to have a rules-based system. I know that can sometimes cause people to ask why and why we are doing that, but there has to be an understanding that there is fairness, clarity and a process in place. It is so that if people can go through that process to qualify that they get it and it is not a response to protest, loud voices or the media, but they are getting their visa having followed a due process.

That said, I want to put on record that I would love to see a better system in place when it comes to dealing with this. I would love to see co-ordination between the sectors, and between my Department and the Department of foreign affairs, to look at how we can build out an approach to dealing with this so this type of event does not happen next year or the year after, whether it involves Gaza or any other part of the world. It behoves us all to try to work towards generating that type of solution. We have a rules-based system but I would certainly like to see us working with others to develop a system that helps us deal with this, so we are not back here again in 12 months' time.

I thank Senator McCarthy. That is a really important issue. He mentioned that Irish universities are looking forward to welcoming students. The Irish public is also looking forward to welcoming students from Gaza.