With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to reply to Questions Nos. 22 and 23 together.
The Minister has been aware of this case since last October when the person referred to was charged by the French authorities with the possession of explosives and attempting to reconstitute a banned movement.
The person referred to is also a French citizen and is being treated as such by the French authorities. He did not, on becoming a naturalised Irish citizen, renounce his original French citizenship. It is not, therefore, possible for the Government to intervene formally with the French Government on his behalf on the usual grounds of consular protection.
The Minister has, however, sought information on the case from the French authorities and he has conveyed to them the concern which many Irish people feel at the continued detention of the person involved.