Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Arís, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Ó hUigín as an cheist a ardú. Bhí suim mhór agam éisteacht lena chúntas. Tá súil agam gur féidir liom roinnt de na ceisteanna a d'ardaigh sé a fhreagairt. Deanfaidh mé mo dhícheall ar son an Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha.

The Government is aware of this case and shares the concern expressed that every effort be made to resolve it speedily and happily. Ms Aminatou Haidar, a human rights activist from Western Sahara, has been on hunger strike at Lanzarote Airport in the Canary Islands since mid-November. She landed at Laayoune Airport in the Western Sahara on 14 November, returning from a visit to Spain, and was denied access by Moroccan immigration authorities, having refused to state her nationality as Moroccan on her landing card. She was, therefore, returned to Lanzarote, from whence she had come, where she refused to leave the airport and commenced a hunger strike in protest. Although not a Spanish national, Ms Haidar has Spanish residency, but she is understandably concerned that any decision on her part to remain in Spain would prohibit her return to her family in Western Sahara.

We share the widespread concerns about Ms Haidar's health, as she has now been on hunger strike for several weeks. She is drinking sugared water, but had refused medical care from the Spanish authorities. Our latest information is that she has today been admitted to hospital in Lanzarote at her own request.

Along with our EU partners, we are closely following the case and our embassy in Lisbon, which is accredited to Morocco, is also maintaining contact with EU missions resident in Rabat. Our Spanish partners, as one would expect in the circumstances, are playing a leading role in trying to talk both to Ms Haidar and to the Moroccan authorities in order to come to a solution-----

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