Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I thank the Minister and the staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, particularly in the consular section, for the work they have done and the contact they continue to have with the Halawa family, who are here today and who were here earlier on. On behalf of my party, I met Somaia Halawa and kept in contact. I have raised the matter of Ibrahim's ongoing detention without trial in Egypt directly with the Minister by way of parliamentary questions and at the foreign affairs committee.

Fianna Fáil supports the motion. We were happy to sign it. It is important that the Dáil speak with one voice on this. The motion will convey a message to the Egyptian authorities that Dáil speaks with one voice of its concern about the ongoing detention without trail of Ibrahim Halawa, who was, let us remember, arrested at the age of 17.

I fully understand the separation of powers within Egypt. I am aware that the Government has on a regular basis been in contact with the Minister's counterpart and the Taoiseach has been in touch, but it is important, when one looks at the facts of this situation, to note that there is an Irish citizen detained without trial who was arrested aged 17 and who has been in prison for more than 1,000 days. Furthermore, I am particularly concerned about the conditions in which he is detained, the threat to both his physical and his mental health, and the fact that in our view it is not satisfactory that there is a group trial such as this with more than 430 co-defendants.

We were particularly disappointed to see a further adjournment of the trial for the thirteenth time. I note that a new date of 2 October has been set. Our difficulty is that there should be no further postponement of this trial, and I ask the Minister to convey this to the Egyptian authorities through his counterpart in Egypt as our earnest wish.

The Minister has outlined when Egyptian decree 140 could be moved and should be sought with the Egyptian authorities but our concern as a party is specifically that due process has not been followed and the delays in the court system in Egypt are unacceptable to us. Ibrahim has been grouped with over 430 co-defendants and will not get a fair trial. It is incumbent on us as a Parliament to do everything we can to ensure Ibrahim is brought back to his country of Ireland as soon as possible. He and his family have suffered distress over those three years because of his detention, and the facilities and manner of his ongoing detention are something we cannot allow to continue.

I ask the Minister to continue his efforts after what I assume will be the unanimous passing of this motion. It would be a strong message going to the Egyptian Government, its parliament and its courts that Dáil Éireann speaks as one on this. We earnestly hope that good relations between our countries continue. We all know it is a sovereign state but if the shoe was on the other foot, with an Egyptian citizen detained without trial in Ireland for over three years, with ongoing delays to court hearings and proper due process not being followed, I am sure the Egyptian authorities would make contact with the Minister and correctly raise issues about the treatment of such a citizen in Ireland.

We want to see a finality to this process. This young man has been detained and in our view it is an illegal detention that has been going on for over three years. What does the Minister propose to do after the passing of this motion and the next steps in this regard, particularly about what can be done to impress upon the Egyptian authorities the need for the case to be heard on 2 October? Has the Minister or those in his Department any confidence that the trial hearing will take place on 2 October? Will he inform me as to whether we could at this stage seek formally the presidential decree 140 now or must that wait until the trial is heard?

As a party we want to see Ibrahim back in Ireland. We are very concerned about his physical and mental health and the way he has been treated. I ask the Minister to redouble his efforts and those of his staff and colleagues within the Department and the Government to impress upon the Egyptian authorities the need for Ibrahim to be released without further delay.

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