Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 March 2018
110. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of Irish citizens whom consulates abroad have assisted following imprisonment in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14257/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides consular assistance to any Irish citizen imprisoned overseas who requests our help. Our Embassies and Consulates provide direct assistance in many cases, through consular visits and practical advice and assistance to individual detainees, and our consular assistance team at HQ provides ongoing support and assistance to the families of such prisoners. We also work through our partnership with the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas (ICPO), which receives funding from our Emigrant Support programme, to support Irish prisoners overseas and their loved ones.
Support and assistance in all such cases is provided on a non-judgemental basis, irrespective of the offence of which the citizen has been accused or convicted.
It is impossible to provide precise statistics for the number of Irish citizens detained or imprisoned overseas. In some cases the individuals involved do not seek any assistance or do not want the Irish authorities to be informed of their situations. In some other cases, regrettably, local authorities sometimes fail to notify the Irish authorities of the imprisonment of our citizens.
My Department’s records show that consular assistance was requested and provided in approximately 300 cases involving Irish citizens imprisoned overseas between 2013 and 2017.
In 2013 my Department opened 55 new cases in this category. In 2014, there were 52 new cases. 2015 saw 55 new cases. 2016 saw 45 new cases, and in 2017 53 new files in this category were opened. In addition, there are a number of cases which were ongoing since prior to 2013 and for which assistance continued to be provided.
Every case is different and is considered and approached on its own merits. Some cases may last only a relatively short time, and the assistance needed may be quite straightforward. Others, such as the high-profile case of a young Irish citizen who was detained in Egypt from August 2013 until October 2017, can be extremely difficult and complex, and can require the deployment of significant resources over a protracted period of time.
Beyond the cases where we are requested to provide direct assistance, through our partnership with the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas, and in some cases also through other emigrant support organisations, we provide substantial indirect supports to a large number of other Irish prisoners. We estimate that, at any time, there are around 1200 Irish men and women in detention overseas and, working with the ICPO, we try to reach out and offer support to as many of these as we possibly can.
So far in 2018 my Department has provided consular assistance in 11 new cases involving Irish citizens who have been imprisoned overseas.
