Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

No, first, because they are not detained in the US and, second, because it would not be helpful to politicise the issue at this point. The way in which we are dealing with this is as a consular situation. These are Irish citizens who have been detained. They are getting the assistance of our consular services, as any Irish citizen would. We are concerned about this. The family has been in contact with us. I have communicated to our ambassador in Cairo that I want to be kept directly informed about this case on an ongoing basis and that is happening. Depending on how it develops, I may have to take it to a different level but, at the moment, our concern is for the welfare of the four young people concerned and we will continue to work with the Egyptian authorities to see to their safety and well-being.

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