Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

6. To ask the Taoiseach the foreign visits he plans to undertake during the remainder of 2017. [31240/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Political engagement with our European Union and international partners is important, especially as negotiations on Brexit proceed. I am, therefore, likely to have a number of overseas meetings during the second half of 2017. These will include two meetings of the European Council in Brussels scheduled for 19 and 20 October and 14 and 15 December. A number of other high-level informal EU summits are also planned, including one in Tallinn, Estonia. In addition, the British-Irish Council is scheduled to meet in Jersey in November. These meetings have all been confirmed and a significant number of other potential meetings and invitations are under consideration.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach might take the opportunity when he gets to his feet to answer my question about the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, her communications with An Garda Síochána and its subsequent actions regarding the individual whom I mentioned. The Taoiseach is familiar with the matter, given that he has answered questions on it in the public domain. Will he make a fuller statement, please?

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Supplementary questions must be relevant to the specific question, Deputy.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Yes. This is a supplementary to an original question to which no answer was offered by the Taoiseach.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are on Question No. 6.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are here to hold the Taoiseach to account and I want him to answer the question.

The Taoiseach's travel plans will be largely, if not exclusively, focused on the fact that the Brexit negotiations are officially under way. The British paper on the rights of EU citizens that was submitted several weeks ago fell spectacularly short of what might have been expected or required. We have raised with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade time and again the need to keep the North of Ireland in the customs union and the Single Market. I presume that the Taoiseach remains committed to those objectives. When might we see the Government's Brexit mitigation paper, which is overdue? It is a matter of some urgency that we have sight of it.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy Boyd Barrett is next, followed by two more Deputies. We have 11 minutes left to give the Taoiseach a chance to respond.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Will the Taoiseach include Egypt on his itinerary of foreign visits? As the Taoiseach knows, the trial of Ibrahim Halawa has dragged out for more than four years. He has suffered terribly in that time. He is going through a laughable legal process under what is now just a tin-pot repressive dictatorship that is locking up en masseanyone in its own population who politically dissents against its brutal regime. The prosecution case against Ibrahim finally got going and ended at the weekend, but the Halawa family's fear is that the judges will be changed in September, given that Egypt changes its judges. If that happens, the whole process will return to the start and there will have been four wasted years. That cannot be allowed to happen.

I urge the Taoiseach to increase the Government's efforts by making a high-level visit to Egypt and insisting that our citizen be brought home. This sham legal process cannot continue. Ibrahim Halawa cannot stand much more time incarcerated in that country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach seemed to say European Council meetings in Estonia and-----

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Two in Brussels and one in Estonia.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

And then a meeting with the President of the United States next March, which I believe was confirmed in the phone call. Is that right?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Yes.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We have heard the list, but it does not seem to include any substantive bilateral meeting with European colleagues.

I have been asking the Taoiseach about this next matter for three weeks but he has consistently dodged the question. Why did he decide to change the entire ministerial team dealing with the EU and Brexit? The previous Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister of State had built up many bilateral contacts in the context of Brexit. What was the logic behind the decision to forgo all of those bilateral relationships and start again? Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the reports that he fired the former Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Dara Murphy, simply because he did not support him during the leadership contest are wrong? The Deputy is on record as saying this. Surely the Taoiseach would not remove someone from such an important job for such a petty reason.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, is looking nervous now.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wonder where he is.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I would have thought that the explanation for replacing the entire Brexit team with a new one would be down to a major change in strategy that the Taoiseach had in mind. The former Taoiseach held many meetings with Heads of State and Government across Europe. Does the current Taoiseach intend to complete that work? In the context of the Brexit negotiations, does he have meetings lined up with other European leaders?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Regarding the notion of the Taoiseach having a discussion with the Egyptian authorities directly, the most impactful way of doing so would be by travelling to Egypt. As the Taoiseach knows, an all-party group met President el-Sisi, although I am not sure that it had any great effect. Neither am I sure that the Taoiseach meeting him would have any greater effect but we need to exhaust every avenue to protect a citizen of Ireland who has been incarcerated without trial for four years.

I wish to ask a further question on the Taoiseach's foreign travel. Would he consider visiting the refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon to meet Syrians? Some 4,000 Syrians are coming to Ireland, some of whom have already arrived. Might we expand that number and will the Taoiseach avail of an opportunity to see on the ground the generosity of the people of Lebanon and Jordan, who have given shelter to a significant number of refugees within their own borders under considerable strain on their finances and resources, for example, water?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The meetings that I outlined - in Tallinn, in Brussels, in Jersey and in Washington - are those that are confirmed. There are, of course, others that are in planning but are not confirmed yet. I have had bilaterals already with Prime Minister May, Prime Minister Ratas, Prime Minister Muscat and Chancellor Merkel. I have met President Macron. As Deputy Micheál Martin will know from European Council meetings, they run over two days and we spend about 14 to 15 hours together. During the course of those meetings, one has an opportunity to meet with all prime ministers and presidents, so I have actually met every Head of State or Government in the EU at this stage and was able to do that over the course of the two days that I spent in Brussels. There are others that are planned but they are not confirmed yet. I certainly see the value in having as many bilateral meetings with other prime ministers as is possible.

In respect of the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, I had a brief conversation with her about it. I understand that she made a complaint to the Garda with regard to harassment, and the Garda thought it sufficient to caution the individual against whom the complaint was made. Obviously, if Deputy McDonald has any further questions, she should put them to her directly. This is clearly a private matter. It is not one of public policy. It is one involving two individuals - one individual who felt that she was being harassed by another. The Garda, based on the evidence it saw, decided to take the action that it did.

On Egypt, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is currently in the Middle East. He is visiting Israel and Palestine at present. Consideration was given to adding Egypt to that visit but it was not possible to organise meetings at a sufficiently high level to make the meetings worthwhile. Deputy Howlin is quite right - there is little point in travelling to Egypt if one is not able to meet the people one needs to speak to. I know that the Ceann Comhairle and the delegation have been there and were able to secure some meetings. We are finding that a little bit difficult at the moment.

I did, at the request of Deputy McDonald, raise this issue with Prime Minister Tsipras, who again I met bilaterally when I was in Brussels recently. He was not aware of the case of Ibrahim Halawa, but he did agree to raise with President el-Sisi the case and also the issues relating to Greece allowing EU monitoring of the trial. That was done on foot of the request that I received in this forum.

As a Government, we want to do everything we can to secure the release of Ibrahim Halawa. He was a 17 year old when he was arrested and has been detained without a full trial now for several years. I think that everyone believes that he should be released, if not on bail, then released entirely so that he can return to his family in Ireland.

I have had a meeting with the ambassador, Mr. Cole, who came over from Cairo to meet me to discuss the case, and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has had several meetings about it as well. We are determined to do all that we can to assist in his release. We are also very conscious, though, that we do not want to do anything that might prove to be counterproductive. There is, of course, a risk of doing something that actually might make his situation worse and we need to be careful not to do that. My predecessor, Deputy Enda Kenny, spoke to President el-Sisi and also met him as well. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, is seeking a conversation and meeting also with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Egypt. However, the Egyptian authorities are very much holding the line that they are not willing to intervene in a court process. While they may be able to do something when the trial is complete, they are not willing to do anything while the trial is under way, citing the separation of powers, which is often cited in this House as well.

We are not going to give up on our efforts. We will continue to explore all options and take any actions we can which will expedite his release but we must always be conscious not to do something which might be counterproductive.