Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late, but I was watching the proceedings. I have been involved in similar situations previously and at no time were there public meetings on the issues, although there were numerous informal meetings held with legal teams dealing with the people imprisoned. I am strongly of the same opinion as the Chairman, that the way to deal with a situation of this nature is to do so discreetly, using all the available resources - the resources available to this committee, to the Government, to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and to the Minister for Justice and Equality. This is in train.

We can second-guess those in the front line dealing with the situation and suggest the issue be dealt with in a different way, but that is not how courts work. Democracy means different things to different people, particularly in different situations and different countries. Not all countries observe the same democratic rules that apply in some countries. We like to think ours is a highly sensitive democratic society. I believe the approach taken so far is the correct approach and that we should continue in this manner.