Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree with a lot of what has been said by Deputy Durkan and I agree with everything Deputy Eric Byrne said. There is no implicit criticism in this motion of the Minister and I endorse the comments of Senator Daly and Deputy Brendan Smith in this regard. The Minister has shown real competence and I have praised him on his work on Northern Ireland. I fully accept that he will leave no stone unturned in this matter. We met ambassador Moylan, whom I know from previous postings, and I know how committed and dedicated she is to this case. I very much welcome what is in the letter but we are dealing with a hierarchical structure in Egypt and we need to ask how we can best achieve a positive outcome for the release of Ibrahim Halawa. If it were a son or a brother of any of us, we would want everything possible to be done.

Diplomatic niceties mean the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade cannot contact the President of Egypt, President el-Sisi. It would be in contravention of normal protocols but we have a template for action nevertheless. The Australian Prime Minister has intervened directly and has been in touch three times by telephone with the Egyptian President and that was a contributory factor in a positive outcome. The Canadian Prime Minister has also been in touch and my understanding is that the Canadian prisoner has been released on bail, though he remains in Egypt. If this committee were to agree to ask the Taoiseach to contact the President of Egypt, it would not cut across what Deputy Durkan and Deputy Byrne have said. That is all we ask. We are not saying he must do it today or tomorrow, although my instinct would be to suggest that he do it sometime prior to 26 April and maybe afterwards, depending on the outcome. The mere fact that we decide upon that, as a committee, will be known to the Egyptian authorities, including the embassy. I think that would also help the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, in his efforts.

I do not see the proposals as mutually exclusive. Ultimately we are trying to do the best for this young man and to highlight the concerns we have for one of our citizens. I know that has been done at a certain level but all we are looking for is to raise it to the next level, namely, presidential level. It could have an impact as we have quite a large Egyptian community in Ireland, many of whom will have connections in Egypt, maybe even with the Administration.

We are respecting Egypt but it has a different system. There is the possibility of a presidential decree.

I will conclude by making an appeal, particularly to those on the Government side of the House. This is not a hostile motion against the Government, the Minister or anyone else. It is purely to see if we can assist the process. My colleagues will speak for themselves, and I am sure they will endorse what I am saying, but we commend the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, on what he has done to date. All we are doing is strengthening his position and allowing it to be raised, once it is considered timely to institute this particular motion.