I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 173 together.
It is customary for the National Flag to be flown at half mast on prominent Government Buildings on the death in office of a Head of State as a mark of respect for a nation with which we have close connections or have had recent engagements.
The flag was flown at half mast on Government Buildings on 23 January to mark the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The flag was also half-masted at Áras an Uachtaráin, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Transport, Leinster House and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The decision to half-mast the flag was made in light of advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Embassy in Riyadh.
The following table gives details of recent occasions when the flag has been flown at half-mast.
Name
|
Date
|
President Lech Kaczynski of Poland
|
18/04/2010
|
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
|
23/01/2015
|