Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the fact that time is being allowed for this discussion and I am glad we will have agreement across the House. I do not believe it amounts to nothing, but it is not enough. Since last year some 22 official pieces of paper have been passed back and forth on this issue and I am sure the Egyptian authorities will not be quaking at the prospect of another one. It is just not enough. The mental and physical damage that has been done to this young man, a child at the time of his incarceration, will never be undone. We are now involved in a race to rectify this damage, or at least to stop it from getting worse.

The talk about process and the separation of powers is utterly disconnected from the reality on the ground. We are giving false signals which we have to rectify. On 15 February this year, the then Minister for Agriculture, Deputy Simon Coveney, boasted about a trade deal his Department had struck. He said:

This agreement is a significant boost to the live export trade in Ireland. The addition of market like Egypt, which has been a very significant importer of Irish cattle in the past, to the list of markets open to Irish exporters, is a timely boost.

Timely? On the same day the Minister celebrated the striking of that deal, Ibrahim Halawa had been held captive, without trial, in the most atrocious, violent conditions and in breach of all human rights legislation, for 922 days. Why would we replicate a strategy that has not worked? We need to escalate matters and make the application for a presidential decree, but we have to use trade as leverage. The Australian foreign Minister warned the Egyptians there would be ramifications for Australia's relationship with Egypt if it did not release its citizen. The Australians also said that Egypt's reputation would be damaged, and we also have to start playing hardball on this matter.

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