Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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28. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on contacts he and his officials have had with the Egyptian authorities regarding the case of a person (details supplied); if he has raised the person's medical condition with the authorities and sought his release on these grounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18698/17]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I was part, with other Deputies, of a delegation to visit Ibrahim Halawa at the start of January. His situation was not good then: he was holding up but clearly desperate. Three months have since passed, another three court adjournments have taken place and, reportedly, his health has taken a significant turn for the worse. He is reportedly in a wheelchair, has been without consciousness and is possibly suffering from a very serious skin disease being spread in the prison hospital. What actions is the Irish Government taking to ensure that his health is being taken care of and that he is released as soon as possible?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I take this opportunity to express my horror at the two attacks on Coptic churches in northern Egypt on Sunday. I have spoken with the Egyptian ambassador and have conveyed through her my deepest condolences and those of the Irish Government to the victims and their families.

The consular case referred to by the Deputy continues to be an absolute priority for the Government, and very substantial resources and time are being devoted to it. The case has seen more high level political engagement, more investment of person-hours, more consultation with third parties worldwide and more consular visits and court hearing observation missions undertaken than in any other case to which the Irish Government has ever responded. This is in light of the unique circumstances of the case, in particular the fact that the citizen concerned was a minor at the time of his arrest.

The Government has repeatedly and consistently called on the Egyptian authorities to allow this citizen to return to his family and his home in Ireland. We have supported legal petitions for this man to be returned to Ireland under Egyptian Law 140, we have appealed for him to be considered for release under the Egyptian President's so-called youth amnesty scheme and we have stressed in all contacts the humanitarian dimensions of the case as grounds under which we believe he should be released. The Taoiseach, as the House is aware, has in recent days renewed the Government's appeal to the Egyptian President to release this Irish citizen and return him to Ireland without delay, stressing in particular the humanitarian dimensions of the case. This is the Government's objective, and we are working day-in, day-out to seek that outcome.

I repeated this position when I met my Egyptian counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Shoukry, again last month. In recent days, I have also spoken at length with the EU High Representative, Ms Mogherini, about the case and availed of the opportunity of my meeting with the Secretary General of the Arab League, who is also a former Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to enlist his assistance in trying to persuade the Egyptian authorities to release our citizen.

The court case in which this person is accused is now moving forward, and recent hearings have been more substantive with shorter periods between court sittings. At the most recent hearing, on 5 April, 11 more witnesses were called and cross-examined and gave evidence. This is important because the Egyptian authorities have consistently said that President el-Sisi and his Government cannot intervene in a case that is before the courts and that the President will only intervene when the trial has ended.

It is also noteworthy that at that most recent hearing the lawyers representing our Irish citizen made a request for his release on health grounds and the presiding judge undertook to examine the matter. The same judge has previously ordered on a number of occasions that there should be medical evaluations of this man's health. The next hearing of the case is scheduled to take place on 26 April. Officials from the Irish Embassy will again be in court to observe proceedings, as they have been at every hearing of the case to date.

For my part, I will continue to work urgently at political level to maintain pressure on the Egyptian Government to release our citizen and allow him to return to his home and his family at the earliest opportunity.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I join the Minister in condemning the terrorist attacks on the Coptic churches in Egypt.

It is not surprising that more hours have gone into this case than others because Mr. Halawa has been in prison for three and a half years. The latest technical file produced for the Egyptian court would seem to confirm the fact that there is no evidence against him of anything other than protesting. The problem is that nothing that has been done so far, including the parliamentary delegation of which I was a part, has worked in releasing our citizen home. What more does the Government intend to do? Was the European External Action Service in attendance at the most recent court case? If not, why not? Are there countries that continue to block the attendance of the EEAS, and is the Government making particular efforts to discuss with those Governments the withdrawal of any such block?

The other issue is that it is all very well for el-Sisi to tell us that he will not release Mr. Halawa until the court case is over, but the court case can go on indefinitely and each court appearance that passes seems to have a bad impact on Ibrahim's spirit, understandably, because the case just seems to stretch indefinitely into the future.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that the Government continues to pursue every constructive avenue to achieve the citizen's return to Ireland and we will continue to bring our influence to bear on his behalf through all appropriate channels. I have spoken to a number of my EU colleagues on this issue and, as I said in my initial reply, on the previous occasion, which was last week, I spoke directly to EU High Representative Mogherini on the matter.

This case continues to receive the attention of the Government at the highest level, having regard to the fact that the Taoiseach has again been in direct contact with President el-Sisi of Egypt about the case, as indeed he has on numerous occasions. He met the Egyptian President face to face twice to discuss the case and he has spoken to him by telephone on a number of occasions. He has also has communicated with him in writing on several occasions. In all of those contacts, the Taoiseach has underlined our concerns about the continuing detention of this young man who has been in prison for three and a half years without having been convicted of any offence and who is part of a group trial that has been adjourned on many occasions. Our key focus continues to be acting in the best interests of the citizen. We are working to have him released by the Egyptian authorities and we look forward to that happening.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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All of those things have been done, yet Ibrahim remains in prison and his condition is worsening. That is first and foremost what the question is about. I appreciate the fact that a doctor was sent to examine him but then we have to use the evidence of the visit to put extra pressure on the Egyptian authorities and, if possible, to use the evidence in the court case to say that he should be released. We must demand that there is EEAS presence at the next court case and we must also demand, loudly, that he is released. There is no chance of Ibrahim getting a fair trial with 493 other defendants and so the only avenue is to exert every possible political pressure on the Egyptian authorities, which means leveraging EU authority and weight, because it is clear that Irish weight on its own is not sufficient. Is the Minister willing to meet again with the Halawa family to discuss other possible options to increase the pressure on the Egyptian authorities?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of direct channels between my Department and the Halawa family and also the lawyers and other interested parties that will be pursued. I am, however, very concerned at persistent reports that the citizen in question is not taking food and may be pursuing a hunger strike. I stress that such a course of action should not be pursued as it will only be damaging to his well-being, health and cause. He should look after his health by eating properly and co-operating with medical tests and investigations that are from time to time arranged on his behalf. Reports about his health are a matter of the utmost concern for both my Government colleagues and me. In the light of those concerns we took the unprecedented step last month of making arrangements for an Irish doctor to be nominated by the chief medical officer to visit him in prison to make an assessment of his health and the matter is the subject of ongoing attention.