Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will take four minutes. I acknowledge and thank all the Members in the House for uniting behind what started as a motion tabled by myself and my Green Party colleague Deputy Eamon Ryan, but has evolved into a strong cross-party motion under which we, as members of this House, cast party politics aside and unite today in seeking justice for an Irish citizen, Ibrahim Halawa.

We recognise that the Department and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade have dedicated a lot of time, effort and resources to Ibrahim's case and a number of politicians from different parties have also kept in close contact with Ibrahim's family to see how best to ensure his safe return home. I met with the Egyptian ambassador and I regret to say I could take nothing from that meeting that gave me confidence or hope in the short term. With the further deferral of the trial process last week, it was clear that a more united approach is needed whereby we, as a Parliament, stand up for his rights and call on the Egyptian Government to exercise its powers under decree 140 in the Egyptian statute book to issue a presidential decree and ensure his release. We do so citing the fact that, when arrested three years ago, Ibrahim Halawa was a child of 17 years of age. His case has now been adjourned 14 times and he has been recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience held for more than three years without a trial.

Justice delayed is justice denied - that is, if one takes a huge leap of faith that Egypt operates a proper system of real justice, but there is no evidence to date that it does.

We propose that a parliamentary delegation from this House visit the Egyptian Parliament, and Ibrahim, to help resolve matters. We look forward to hearing from the Egyptian ambassador in that regard. She must start to appreciate that many have zero confidence in Egypt's purported system of justice. I hope there will be a speedy response from her as we try to comprehend the anguish that Ibrahim's family has been feeling over the past three years. I welcome members of Ibrahim's family to Leinster House today as they watch this debate, and commend the way in which they have tirelessly campaigned for his release in a peaceful and determined manner.

We must exhaust all options in ensuring Ibrahim's release, but a stage may be arrived at where all our diplomatic representations and efforts continue to fail, including perhaps a direct intervention by the Taoiseach where, rather than telephone calls, a face-to-face meeting of the Taoiseach with the Egyptian President is requested as a matter of urgency, with Ibrahim being the sole issue on the agenda. Should that fail, however, I suggest that at that stage it may become necessary for the Egyptian authorities to be made aware that some consideration would have to be given to suspending diplomatic relations with a country which continues to unjustifiably detain one of our citizens who was a child at the time of his arrest and that this is unacceptable.

Ibrahim Halawa - we say his name loudly and clearly here today so that Egypt hears one united voice saying that Ireland will not stand for the continued imprisonment and ill treatment of Ibrahim - is one of our own. Standing up for him says something about our sense of ourselves as a nation. We are in many respects his only hope - his last hope - and I am glad that we are standing together here today to demand the release of our own citizen, Ibrahim Halawa.

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