Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am more than happy to engage with the committee on Northern Ireland matters. I acknowledge the presence in the Visitors Gallery of members of the Justice for the Forgotten group. I had the opportunity to meet with them recently. It is a source of great regret to me and to the Government that we were not in a position to reach agreement over the entire gamut of legacy issues. However, it would be unfair of me to go into great detail with Deputy Ó Snodaigh, as he represents a party that was actually seated at the talks for their entirety. He is most familiar with the level of progress made on that issue. It was certainly not due to any lack of capacity on the part of the Irish Government that no final agreement was reached on the very important legacy issues and institutions. I reiterate my call for all parties to continue to engage and to find solutions. In that regard, the party to which Deputy Ó Snodaigh is affiliated has something of a role.

On the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, I wish to assure the Chairman and committee that we will continue to regard this issue as one of importance and urgency. We fully support the all-party motions. I had an opportunity in the course of the recent talks to raise the issue specifically with the Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers MP. She has assured me that she will consider afresh how the British Government can respond fully to the Dáil motions. It is important for that engagement to continue. In seeking the truth on this issue, there are aspects over which the Irish Government does not have complete authority. I assure Deputy Ó Snodaigh, the Chairman and other committee members that we will continue to raise the issue at every opportunity. We will continue to urge the British Government to allow access to the appropriate files and papers by an independent and international judicial figure and to make all the documents available. I travel to Belfast tomorrow and will engage further with victims and their representatives there.

On the matter of the refugees, the Irish acceptance of up to 4,000 refugees is in the course of being implemented. There are issues pertaining to screening, which must take place. This is important for security purposes. We do not intend to apply any ethnic test or confessional approach, however.

I hope the issue can be progressed in a most humanitarian way. I welcome the acceptance on the part of the Irish people towards ensuring that we play our part in what is a humanitarian crisis of huge dimensions.

The matter of Ibrahim Halawa continues to concern me. I am in regular contact with the authorities in Egypt and have had active engagement with the recently appointed Egyptian ambassador here. I was asked specifically about the involvement of the European Union. I discussed the case as recently as two weeks ago with High Representative Federica Mogherini. She has assured me that the case continues to remain high on the agenda of the European Union in terms of its bilateral engagement with Egypt. I continue to receive suggestions, views and proposals in terms of action and keep these proposals under constant review. However, I have to say, as I have said before, that I am guided at all times by the type of action I believe is likely to achieve a measure of progress for our citizen. We supported the application for bail and will continue to do so. Ultimately, this is an issue that will be decided by the Egyptian authorities. In the meantime, I will continue to make a strong case on his behalf, as I have been doing, for humanitarian reasons and having regard to his age and conditions and the fact that he is an Irish citizen remanded in custody awaiting trial for a period of time which I would regard as both inordinate and less than acceptable. I have conveyed these views to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, and will continue to engage at the highest level.

There is no disagreement in Ireland or throughout the European Union on the legality or illegality of the settlements. They are illegal. Ireland will continue to ensure that this issue is high up the agenda, notwithstanding the challenges Europe faces in terms of the management of the crisis from within its own boundaries and beyond. As I stated at the outset, I accept that this apparent vacuum in the region has resulted in a situation where a two-state solution may well be less viable than heretofore. This is why it is important that the viability of the two-state solution remains. The European Union has a strong and positive role to play in a way that perhaps it has not in recent times.