Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson has said it is “utterly appalling” that 31 out of the 59 Gazan students awarded scholarships to study in Ireland from September have had their visa applications blocked.
The visas were blocked by the Department of Justice.
The Social Democrats Senator said, “it is unimaginably cruel to give people who have lived through a genocide a semblance of hope for a brighter future, only for that to be shattered by a Government body which is meant to uphold and stand for justice.”
“The Department claims that the visa process has remained unchanged on their side, but this does not explain why there have been so many visa denials this year compared to comparable applications during previous years,” she said.
“How can this government claim to stand in solidarity with a people who are currently subject to ethnic cleansing in their home while simultaneously blocking a small group of them from educational opportunities which have been granted by our own institutions?” she asked.
“I find it incredulous that the Department is not willing to acknowledge the context: Gaza has been razed to the ground, so it’s hardly difficult to recognise that obtaining certain administrative documents is next to impossible. An international student from Gaza cannot access the same documents as those from other countries, so expecting them to do so is ridiculous.”
“By all accounts, the Department of Foreign Affairs has been supportive of the University of Sanctuary scheme – it’s Justice which is failing to acknowledge the reality of this situation. Minister Jim O’Callaghan must make a clarifying statement on why his Department is blocking these visas. Over Gazan students were granted visas and evacuated to Ireland in an operation organised by Tánaiste Simon Harris as Minister for Foreign Affairs last year – the government must explain its u-turn on this matter,” she said.