John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I apologise the Minister for Foreign Affairs cannot be here. I acknowledge Deputy Hoctor has raised this issue often not only with the Minister but with the officials. I fully appreciate her concern and commitment to secure transparency and honesty. I also thank her for raising the issue on the Adjournment and I join in conveying my condolences to the Dwyer family on the death of their son and brother, Michael. I recognise the trauma and difficulty for the family.

Michael Dwyer was shot dead by the Bolivian state security services on 16 April in Santa Cruz. After hearing of his death, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, immediately instructed the Irish embassy in Argentina, which is also accredited to Bolivia, to send a diplomatic officer there to represent the Government and also to look after the concerns of the family. The officer initially travelled to Santa Cruz and then to the Bolivian capital.

Following extensive contacts between the Irish embassy representative and officials in Santa Cruz - I acknowledge the involvement of Deputy Hoctor in this process - it was possible to secure the timely release of the remains and arrangements were made for the body to be repatriated to Ireland for burial. Constant updates from officials and the Minister were given to the Dwyer family at this tragic time.

The embassy representative also had meetings with the Bolivian Vice President, the acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Vice Minister of the Interior, the investigating attorney in charge of the case and the investigating officer from the anti-crime special force. He expressed the Government's concern at reports on the circumstances surrounding the death and inquired as to the steps the Bolivian authorities were taking to discover the facts of the case.

The Minister then spoke to Acting Foreign Minister Quintana by telephone and emphasised that our interest in this case related entirely to protecting the consular rights of our citizens abroad. The Irish Government has a duty to seek the facts in a case where one of our citizens has been killed in a violent incident by the security forces in another state.

The Minister emphasised that the Government would welcome an official explanation of what occurred in Santa Cruz and stated that the Government was ready to participate in, and assist with, an international investigation. The Minister then wrote to Minister Quintana to reiterate our consular interest in the case and to welcome his commitment to working with the Government to establish the full facts of the case.

Through our embassy in Buenos Aires, a number of reports have been received by the Minister, namely, the Official Position of the Bolivian Government on the break-up of a terrorist group, copies of the report of the autopsy carried out on Mr. Dwyer in Santa Cruz, the toxicological and chemical analysis reports and the ballistics report. These have been shared with Mr. Dwyer's family.

On 15 October, an inquest was held into Mr. Dwyer's death in the coroner's court in Dublin. In this case, the jury delivered an open verdict in the absence of evidence strong enough for any other finding to be made. The State Pathologist, Dr. Marie Cassidy, who had carried out an autopsy on Mr. Dwyer directly after the return of his remains to Ireland, testified to the court that Mr. Dwyer had been struck by a single bullet. This testimony was at variance with the Bolivian autopsy which noted six points of impact by gunshot.

Her Excellency, Beatriz Souviron, the Bolivian ambassador-designate to Ireland, who also gave evidence at the inquest, stated that the Bolivian Government's investigation into the causes of Mr. Dwyer's death was ongoing. She also indicated the Bolivian Government's willingness to welcome any assistance which would make the facts of the case clear and she agreed to refer to her Government the request for an international investigation.

Following the inquest, the Minister for Foreign Affairs wrote to his Bolivian counterpart, David Choquehuanca, asking for clarification of the discrepancies between the autopsy carried by Dr. Cassidy and the autopsy which took place in Santa Cruz. The Minister inquired as to progress in the Bolivian Government's investigation of the events surrounding Mr. Dwyer's death.

The Minister urged the Government of Bolivia to hold an international investigation into the events surrounding Mr. Dwyer's death and the death of two other foreign nationals. He reiterated that Ireland is available to provide assistance to, and co-operate with, the Bolivian Government in an international investigation of this matter. We await Minister Choquehuanca's reply.

I assure the Deputy that the Department of Foreign Affairs will continue its efforts to establish the facts surrounding the death of Michael Dwyer and will provide all possible consular assistance to Mr. Dwyer's family.

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