Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding the use of stolen Irish passports in the United Arab Emirates in January 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13402/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The first indication we received of the use of false Irish passports in connection with the killing of Mr. Mahmoud al Mabhouh was on 4 February, when local press reports in Dubai stated that several suspects were believed to have entered Dubai on Irish passports. The ambassador of Ireland to the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Ciarán Madden, immediately contacted the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek clarification as to the truth of these reports. On 8 February, the ambassador, Mr. Madden, was received at the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was informed that it had no information at that time but that the matter was under investigation by the United Arab Emirates security services.

On 15 February, the Dubai chief of police gave a news conference during which he gave the details of fake Irish passports. My Department, in co-operation with the Garda and the security services, immediately commenced an investigation into the apparent use of fraudulent Irish passports, including making contact with the Irish citizens whose passport numbers had been stolen . I have discussed the matter with the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister and have assured him of Ireland's co-operation. The Attorney General took the opportunity presented by his St. Patrick's day visit to the United Arab Emirates to discuss the issue with the Foreign Minister.

The ambassador, Mr. Madden, has maintained ongoing contact with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dubai police, in addition to liaising with his German, French, Australian, Austrian and British counterparts. He met the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al Nahyan, to discuss the situation. The Dubai police have shared with us the details of the fraudulent passports it suspects were used and we have passed on these to the investigating gardaí.

Officials from our embassies in Paris, London and Berlin have been in contact with the foreign ministries of those countries to ensure a co-ordinated response. Senior officials of my Department have also met on two occasions with the Australian ambassador to Ireland and shared information with him. I have discussed the situation on a number of occasions with the British Foreign Secretary Mr. David Miliband and we are co-operating closely and sharing information. On Monday of last week, the British Foreign Office briefed our Embassy in London to the effect that the Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA, investigation had found "compelling circumstantial evidence" of Israeli involvement in the production of false British passports. Our own investigations by the Department and the Garda are ongoing. I expect them to be completed by the middle of next month.

On 22 February I met the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Avigdor Lieberman, in Brussels to outline how seriously we take the misuse of Irish passports. Our ambassador to Israel also met with the Europe Director of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and registered Ireland's serious concerns. The Israeli ambassador to Ireland was invited to Iveagh House where senior officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs stressed the seriousness with which the Government viewed the matter. It is simply unacceptable that totally innocent Irish citizens could have been endangered through this fraudulent use of Irish passports. The consequences of innocent Irish citizens being implicated in the murder of a Hamas commander could have been extremely serious.

Our primary focus in all of this has been to guarantee the security of the Irish citizens affected. There are now a total of eight false or falsely obtained Irish passports in question. We have spoken to all of the citizens who hold or have held passports with numbers provided by the Dubai authorities and we have provided them with new passports.

Last month at the Foreign Affairs Council, EU Foreign Ministers strongly condemned the fact that those involved in this action have used fraudulent EU member states' passports and credit cards acquired through the theft of EU citizens' identities. As stressed in the past, particularly in March 2004, by EU Heads of State and Government at the European Council, the Union has consistently opposed extra-judicial killings, which are contrary to international law.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister agree the fraudulent use of Irish passports is an outrageous act? He has given a great deal of information, yet I am unclear about what progress has been made in our investigation. Who was behind the use of the passports? The Minister said in his talks with Mr. David Miliband that the British Foreign Minister stated that there was "compelling circumstantial evidence" Israel was involved in the fraudulent production and use of British passports. Was a diplomat from the Israeli embassy expelled from Britain? Has the Minister any indication as to who might have used the Irish passports? Is it reasonable to assume that it was probably the same source? If so, what measures does he intend to take? Is there evidence of the use of Irish passports in this manner in the past? If so, what action was taken?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy that it is outrageous that fake Irish passports were used in this murder. In six of the eight cases, they used real passport numbers that corresponded with the numbers on passports in Ireland and, therefore, the security of the citizens concerned was at risk. When I met Foreign Minister Mr. Lieberman, we made it clear how seriously we took the issue and how unacceptable such behaviour was. He said simply he did not have information relating to this.

The British Foreign Minister, Mr. David Miliband, spoke to me at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which was a day in advance of the statement by SOCA, and he indicated what the outcome of that would be in terms of "compelling circumstantial evidence". We are aware of the circumstantial evidence generally regarding this event and alleged Israeli involvement. We raised that issue with Foreign Minister Mr. Lieberman and again he said he had no information on that.

The difference between the British case and our case is that in the British case the fraudulent passports appear to have been cloned from those issued to British citizens with strong links to Israel and, in some cases, they live in Israel. In our case six of the passports were fakes using existing passport numbers while two did not carry valid numbers. Unlike the British, therefore, we do not have an immediate line of inquiry. The investigation by the Garda and the Department is not complete. There is circumstantial evidence but given the seriousness of this situation and the grave consequences involved, we want to conclude our investigation before taking this further.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Minister that it is important to conclude the investigation but when is that likely to occur? Was there a link between the eight fake Irish passports? If so, it should be relatively easy to trace who was responsible for falsifying them.

Will the Minister confirm that he is of the view that the finger is strongly pointing at Mossad, the Israeli secret service, as the group involved in the falsification of these passports. If so, what action does he intend to take? If the report does not come to a conclusion, what action will he take? If a country is not willing to deny the use of fake passports, does he agree it puts a serious question mark over its involvement?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have an exact timeframe for the conclusion of the investigation. It will be complete in a reasonably short time from now but that is a matter for the investigating authority.

With regard to the line of investigation, the question posed by the Deputy is obvious and work has been done in endeavouring to establish whether there was a link between the six citizens involved. There does not appear to be but that was based on a preliminary assessment. One presumes the investigation has gone a little deeper.

SOCA is a credible agency and it has produced an interim report but, nonetheless, it states that there is compelling circumstantial evidence. The reason we called in the Israeli ambassador and the reason I met the Israeli Foreign Minister is that there was circumstantial evidence even then and there was clear commentary in the media. I will not pre-empt what action we might take until the investigation is concluded. One must always bear in mind in these situations that it can be quite a murky business, particularly in the intelligence world, and sometimes one should hesitate from rushing in to form immediate conclusions.

I will also be in touch with the UAE authorities who are at the centre of the investigation into the murder and we will seek their considered opinion on this.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Did the Attorney General receive any new information?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No.