Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As long as I am chairing this committee it will not be a courtroom. The Department officials have already outlined to KRW following receipt of its opinion, that the Government believes that the wording of Law 140 is such that it cannot be allowed in Ibrahim Halawa's case until the trial proceedings have concluded. Based on extensive representations of Ibrahim Halawa's case at the highest level, the Egyptian authorities are unlikely to consider the application of this law under Ibrahim Halawa's case until the trial proceedings have concluded. We have supported this and I have agreed to have an informal meeting with the legal team. I have no problem doing so. The committee has taken a keen interest in this case, as has the Taoiseach. He has met President el-Sisi more than once, including at the COP meeting last weekend in Paris, at which time he again raised this issue with him. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, have also met the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mr. Shoukry. There have been extensive representations in relation to this case. Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have also visited Ibrahim Halawa 48 times.

We are all interested in this case. Ibrahim will be 20 years old this month and he has spent over two years now in prison. We believe that Ibrahim's best interests lie in the law taking its course. As politicians and parliamentarians we need to be mindful, in terms of what we do, that we are not seen to be intervening in the legal affairs of Egypt. We need to be very careful in that regard and I urge Senator Daly to act with caution in this matter. I propose that the committee meet informally with the legal team. I do not want negative publicity on Ibrahim Halawa's future emanating from this committee. Let us call a spade a spade on this. With the permission of the committee, as chairman, I will informally meet with the legal team-----