Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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392. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will request the Department of An Taoiseach to address the case of a person (details supplied), in the same way the then Australian Prime Minister, Mr Tony Abbott, and the British Prime Minister, did to protect the rights of their citizens affected by fraudulent activities in Dubai, and by doing so, attempt to alleviate the suffering and hardship for the persons affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19380/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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My Department has been in regular contact with the family at the centre of this case over recent years, both in Dublin and through officials at the Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Our Embassy in Abu Dhabi has raised the case a number of times, most recently in March, with the UAE authorities. The Office of the Prosecutor has indicated that the competent national authority continues to have a criminal case registered against two persons on charges of fraud and ‘acquisition of capital’. In July 2013 an order was issued for their arrest, but it would appear that this order remains outstanding.

As the criminal case is still ongoing in Dubai, and the question of the enforcement of outstanding foreign arrest orders is strictly a matter for the local authorities, as things stand there is nothing further that the Embassy or Department can do to assist on this matter.

The Department of Foreign Affairs does not have a budget to appoint lawyers or pay for legal costs incurred by citizens involved in legal proceedings abroad. As you will appreciate, given the large numbers of Irish citizens travelling, doing business and entering into contracts overseas, it is simply not possible for my Department to maintain a budget for such legal representation. It would also be inappropriate for us to be in a position of making judgments on the merits of which specific cases we could or could not fund.

The difficulty and financial hardship that the family now find themselves in is clear from the correspondence my Department has received from them, but unfortunately it would appear that there is no further consular assistance that can be offered to them by my Department at the current time. This is a criminal case in the UAE based on a commercial legal dispute. Both criminal cases and commercial legal disputes abroad are subject to local law and legal/settlement proceedings and the Department cannot interfere in those local judicial processes. Similarly, for reasons outlined above, the consular assistance that we can offer to citizens does not include the provision of expert legal advice on foreign disputes, nor financial support to employ legal representation in respect of legal disputes abroad.

I regret to inform the Deputy that, following careful consideration of the case, it is the considered view of the Department that there is no further action that we can take to assist these individuals at this time.