Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the date on which his Department paid a court imposed bond on behalf of a number of Irish citizens abroad (details supplied); the date on which the moneys involved were repaid to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7762/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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In the consular case referred to by the Deputy, the court judgment permitted the Irish citizens to be released from prison under "conditional freedom", on payment of a bond. My Department, at the request of the defence team and given the ongoing consular concerns of the Department about the safety of the persons concerned, advanced the funds to facilitate the payment of this bond, on the basis of a firm undertaking to repay the sum involved. The decision was taken exclusively on consular grounds, and was neither discussed nor taken at political level. The funds were advanced on 25 June 2004 and were repaid on 20 August 2004.