Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding his contacts with the Indian authorities in respect of the recent events in Mumbai, India; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44620/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Throughout the recent crisis in Mumbai, our Embassy in New Delhi and our Honorary Consulate in Mumbai maintained close operational contact with the Indian authorities. On my instructions, a diplomatic officer from the Embassy travelled immediately to Mumbai to set up a crisis centre for Irish citizens at our Honorary Consulate there. Throughout the days of the crisis this diplomatic officer, together with our Honorary Consul and other staff at the Consulate, kept in contact with the Mumbai Police Command Centre, as well as with other EU and international emergency operations. The Embassy in New Delhi kept in contact initially with the Europe West Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and subsequently with the Control Room established at the Ministry of External Affairs to coordinate liaison with foreign missions in relation to the emergency response.

My Department provided consular assistance to over 30 individuals who contacted them or whom they were able to contact. Thankfully, there were no Irish casualties but some Irish citizens had been in hotels attacked by the militants. All of these managed to escape without injury, though some were deeply distressed by the experience. Assistance provided to them included replacement of travel documents that had to be abandoned when the attacks took place, travel arrangements home or out of Mumbai and general advice about the situation and safety issues.

Information was provided by the Consulate and Embassy to the Department's Consular Section in Dublin and the Crisis Centre set up to assist with briefing families at home. The Department's website carried reports and updates on the situation and contact details throughout the crisis.

In terms of my own contacts with the Indian authorities, I spoke with the Indian Ambassador in Dublin on 27 November, the day after the attacks in Mumbai began, to convey my sincere condolences on behalf of the Irish people at the tragic events which were taking place. I expressed the hope to the Ambassador that the Indian authorities would be able to resolve the current situation without further loss of life and that those who carried out or plotted these attacks would be brought to justice. Relations between India and Ireland have always been close and I wanted to assure him of our sympathy and prayers. As we in Ireland know all too well, terrorist atrocities such as those which took place in Mumbai serve no purpose other than to kill and injure innocent victims, Indian and foreign alike, and to sow panic and suspicion.