I have a friend from the Asian sub-sontinent and his son is sitting his Leavign Cert. The son, as are his parents, non-EU citizens - however he does have a brother who is Irish born/resident etc.
As I understand it, Ahmed must pay 3rd level courses which is free for any Irish-residents ? Is there any way around this for him or any other 3rd level option ?
What is his status in the country? This will determine what level of fees he has to pay, i.e. Refugee status can mean free fees. If he has a Stamp 4 visa and has been residing in the EU for 3 out of the last 5 years he may be entitle to pay the standard rate for the course rather than the Non-EU rate, but would require further information to determine exactly what he would be entitled to.
An Irish or EU citizen is entitled to one "free" undergraduate degree. If after that they want to do another one, fees start at around €3k per year depending on the course. A non EU student may have to pay up to ten times that and often the full 3/4/5 years fees up front. Hence the hope that the child in question would have to pay the cheaper standard fees of "only" several thousand per year.
Would be worth contacting International office at WIT (Waterford Institute of Technology) or somewhere similar - they are very good at advising in those situations.