Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I acknowledge that. During the course of the elections, 20 people lost their lives. The European Union provided a very substantial amount of money, in the region of €50 million, for the election itself and security. The Union, therefore, has invested heavily. We await the full report. The presidential election results have been counted. They have not been counted in a transparent way such that we are not clear about the tabulation of the votes. That has been heavily criticised by the observer missions. The results of the parliamentary elections are being counted at present and that is why I have asked for a further report. I will be meeting our own observers and also members of the Congolese community after the count is complete and the full report is available. That is expected at the end of March or beginning of April. At that point, I will be in a position to return to the Deputy with further details.

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