Chants included “Jim O’Callaghan, you can’t hide/ You support scholasticide”, and “Let them study/Grant them Visas”.
Approximately 250 protestors gathered this Wednesday at the Department of Justice to protest the refusal of almost 100 Palestinian student visas.
The protest was supported by five political parties: the Green Party, Labour, People Before Profit, Social Democrats, and Sinn Féin. Gathered at the protest were student union representatives from UCD, NCAD and Trinity. UCD Justice for Palestine and Academics for Palestine were also present.
While over 70 Gazan students successfully travelled to Ireland through university initiatives with the Department of Foreign Affairs since 2024, recent applications have faced a high rate of refusal. According to the ‘Universities of Sanctuary’, at least 31 of those denied entry received scholarships.
“A student due to study in Ireland learned today that six of his friends were killed in Gaza,” said Ivana Bacik, leader of the Labour Party. “Students like the engineering student due to study at Trinity who risked his life crossing the Gaza Strip to do an English proficiency test.”
Students in Gaza face extreme difficulties obtaining standard documentation due to the collapse of state and university infrastructure. Students, including those with full scholarships covering tuition, accommodation, and living expenses, have been rejected on grounds such as insufficient finances, lack of obligation to return to Gaza, and gaps in educational records during the ongoing conflict.
Ahmed Abuhassan, a student from Gaza, was awarded a full scholarship to study computer science at UCD but has had his visa denied due to incomplete financial evidence.
Several UCD staff were seen at the protest supporting the campaign, alongside a significant presence from the UCDSU, including president Enzo Crothers.
“The whole campus wants them here, their lecturers want them here, the students’ union wants them here, Ireland wants them here,” said Crothers. “So if the whole campus is saying yes, why are the students still in Palestine, why are they still in Gaza?”
With limited internet and electricity and no working postal service available in Gaza to complete financial forms, protesters have criticised the application process, arguing that these students receive full scholarship and stipend funding and should not have to prove financial means.
Students applying for visas must also justify gaps in education, which protesters note is the direct result of the destruction of universities and schools in Gaza.
The Department of Justice maintains that there has been no change to visa processing procedures or approval criteria, stating that each application is decided on its own merits. The Department has further confirmed it has no plans to introduce special visa arrangements for Palestinian nationals, despite acknowledgement of the unique barriers they face.
“For all those Leaving Cert students this year, it’s a time of uncertainty,” one speaker said. “They don’t know what’s going to happen. All those children and all those mammies in Palestine who are wondering: are those children going to last into the college year starting? What is wrong with Ireland? Where has our humility and humanity gone? That we cannot think in the depth of a war to let 100 kids come over here to study in safety and in peace.”
Sophie Gliott and Aisling Murphy – Editors