Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of Irish people for whom the Department of Foreign Affairs has paid a court-imposed bond since 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19540/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As I outlined in my reply of 4 April 2006 to a parliamentary question on this issue, consular assistance is provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs in a wide variety of circumstances, with each situation being assessed on a case by case basis, having regard to all the factors involved.

Since 1997, an advancement of the funds by the Department in a court bond context occurred in the case of three Irish citizens in Columbia. In this particular consular case, the court judgment permitted the three citizens to be released from prison on payment of a bond. My Department, at the request of the Defence team, and given the on-going consular concerns 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 funds were repaid in full. The decision to advance funds was taken by the Department in pursuit of its consular responsibilities, and was neither discussed nor taken at political level.