Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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193. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 175 of 12 November 2015, if he will provide additional details of his discussions with the Filipino Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the situation; the action that was agreed; if there is a timeline for a reply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42022/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The senior official in the Filipino Ministry of Foreign Affairs with whom I spoke took note of the case of this citizen who is imprisoned in the Philippines, of our concerns and of our request that the date for the appeal be expedited on humanitarian grounds, while also noting the independence of the legal process in the Philippines.

It is important to bear in mind the constrained role of the Irish Government where citizens are imprisoned abroad. When an Irish citizen is charged with an offence under the laws of a foreign country, it is the foreign laws that apply and it is the relevant foreign court that decides on matters such as bail.

Let me again reassure the Deputy that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing and will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to the citizen and their family.