Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabh mo leithscéal. I met with President el-Sisi in Paris and New York at the UN Millennium Development Goals summit. Maybe that is what made me think of Messi. It is not for us to direct the Egyptian authorities but we reminded President el-Sisi that he holds presidential powers with regard to release of individuals and this has happened in a number of other cases. He was very open and frank in that discussion about where his powers are. This trial was postponed on a number of occasions not because of anything Ibrahim Halawa was unable to offer, but because of the inability of others to attend court. It is a very big trial, as the Deputy is aware. I repeated that to the Egyptian President when I met him at the climate change summit in Paris. The Egyptian ambassador sent a letter quite recently pointing out the responsibility and opportunity of the Egyptian Government. I cannot dictate to another jurisdiction in respect of its system but we have made perfectly clear our interest in having young Ibrahim Halawa returned home to his family and we will continue to maintain a high level of awareness in and activity level about him through the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the consular activities in Cairo. I hope that on the next occasion, the situation can be changed and that it might be possible for the Egyptian President to consider his use of presidential powers in respect of pardon.

In respect of the panel, many of these cases have been around for quite a long time. Some of them have gone through the circuit in the courts already. When they were brought to my attention, we set up a panel of legal experts to look at each case, the background and story and what might or might not be done. The Minister for Justice and Equality appointed a member of the Judiciary to respond properly to each individual. I understand that in the vast majority of cases, no further action is proposed. This will not be acceptable to some people who have lived a life with some of these cases. Action is recommended by the panel in a number of cases and is referred to in the letters sent out by the-----

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