Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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170. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45046/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to be able to report that this long-running and complex consular case has now come to a positive conclusion and that this young Irish citizen is now enjoying his liberty again after spending more than four years in prison in Egypt. This young man was finally released from custody in Cairo on 19 October, and the Irish Embassy in Cairo was on hand to support him and to make accommodation arrangements for him at a private location. The Embassy team continued over the following days to provide him with all possible support and assistance, including in relation to the remaining paperwork and formalities necessary to facilitate his departure from Egypt. He and his family are asking that their privacy should now be respected.

This case has been one of the most complex, sensitive and difficult consular cases to which the Irish Government has ever responded. Work on this citizen’s behalf has involved significant and sustained effort at the highest Government levels, by Parliamentarians of all hues; engagement at a range of senior official and diplomatic levels; widespread consultation, dialogue and advocacy with EU partners and in many capitals; the harnessing of expertise in Egyptian and international law and other areas; and an exceptional commitment by many public servants and Embassy officials – both diplomats and locally engaged staff - over more than four years. We never lost sight of our two key objectives – to get this young man home, and to do everything possible to safeguard his rights and welfare for as long as he remained in the custody of the Egyptian authorities. I want to express very sincere thanks to everyone who has been part of this effort.