Was the Tánaiste kept in the dark or did he give partial information to the Dáil?
The Tánaiste must explain why he omitted the main reason visas for a Palestinian GAA club were refused during the summer when answering questions on this issue in the Dáil, according to Social Democrats spokesperson for sport Sinéad Gibney.
“There was heartbreak this summer when visas for 33 Palestinian children, aged between 9 and 16, from the West Bank were refused. This was a trip that had been many months in the making, with more than 100 host families, all over the country, looking forward to welcoming the children to Ireland for a GAA tour.
“When I raised this issue with Tánaiste Simon Harris in the Dáil at the time, he said the reason for the refusal was due to “child protection” concerns and cited our “rules based migration system”. What he didn’t say was that officials, in the Department of Justice, were primarily concerned that Palestinian children, and their adult mentors, would not return to the West Bank.
“In Freedom of Information documents provided to TheJournal.ie, an official in the Department of Justice is clear that the visas were refused for “principally, the risk of overstay”. In fact, according to TheJournal.ie, “the issue [of overstay] came up repeatedly in high-level emails and briefings from the time”.
“Shamefully, the apartheid Israeli system that oppresses Palestinians, was used as a weapon against them in their visa application. Officials cited “logistical issues” that could impede the return of the group to the West Bank, including a requirement to get exit and re-entry approval from Israeli authorities.
“None of this was mentioned in the Dáil, by the Tánaiste, when I questioned him on July 10, about the refusal to grant visas. Back then, he bristled at any suggestion GAA Palestine were being treated unfairly and insisted to me – and two other TDs – that the main reason for the refusal was child protection. This was not true.
“The Tánaiste should now explain why he did not give complete information at the time – was he kept in the dark or was he simply giving partial information?
“He should also now clarify if increased barriers have been put in place for groups from Palestine to come here – at a time when he himself acknowledges a genocide is underway in Gaza and Israel is illegally annexing the West Bank.”