Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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39.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will meet an ambassador (details supplied) to discuss an ongoing case he is aware of, having met the family concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31812/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am fully aware of this distressing case, and I met with family members in January of this year to discuss the situation. The subject is an Australian citizen, and so Australia has consular responsibility for his welfare, but he is an Irish resident and with an Irish family, so we are ready and anxious to help where we can. My predecessor Deputy Coveney was also very active in this regard.

The Iraqi Embassy was established in Dublin in 2023. An Ambassador has not yet been appointed, with the Embassy headed by a Chargé d'Affaires. Officials in my Department consistently raise this case in meetings and discussions with the Chargé d'Affaires and other officers. I have myself raised this case directly with the Foreign Minster of Iraq, at a meeting in New York last year and more recently in a phone call earlier this year. We will continue to press the Iraqi authorities at every opportunity to resolve this case.