Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to that. We will go through the report more thoroughly later on. The situation in Egypt is very challenging. There is a very dysfunctional legal system there. We must make that quite clear. When we asked previously if a delegation could travel out to see Ibrahim Halawa we were refused but eventually they came up with a solution that the Chairman would go.

It is not our role as a committee to attend trials of people abroad but, having said that, the Ibrahim Halawa case is unique. He is a young man. There is no guarantee that anybody could get into the courtroom. This place is located an hour and a half outside Cairo. The court case could be over in five or ten minutes and we might not get to see him. We need to be careful about this. The idea, in principle, is a good one. It keeps the committee focused. It keeps a focus on Ibrahim Halawa's case. There is no point in a delegation going out to Egypt if they do not get to attend the trial or see Ibrahim Halawa. They are the two reasons. We need to get more advice on this from the Department and we need permission from the Egyptian Embassy or the interior Ministry to attend the trial. When Lynn Boylan went out the last time she did not get to attend the trial. We need to be careful and to examine the possibilities of a visit. We do not know what will happen. We do not know what the charges are against Ibrahim Halawa. We have a fair idea of the process but we do not know what the charges are. If the witnesses do not turn up the case could be postponed again. We need to make more concrete inquiries about attending the trial before we decide on that and maybe we can decide next week.