I am responding on behalf of my ministerial colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who are unavailable due to their ministerial duties this evening. Providing consular assistance to Irish citizens who find themselves in difficulty abroad, including in cases of arrest or detention, is a cornerstone of the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its embassies and consulates around the world. Each year the Department provides support to a significant number of Irish citizens arrested or detained overseas. Our ethos has always been to place a strong emphasis on ensuring that Irish citizens receive timely and empathetic consular assistance. We are aware of the case referred to by the Deputy. Consular assistance has been provided to the citizen referred to since September 2025, soon after their detention. I can confirm that a dedicated consular officer in the Consulate General of Ireland in Munich has been assigned to support the citizen and their family and has provided support and advice in accordance with the Department's consular assistance charter. I can further confirm that staff in the Consulate General in Munich, including the consul general and deputy consul general, have undertaken four consular visits to the citizen in prison, most recently on 10 April. We are in regular contact with the citizen and with family members. Consular visits are an opportunity to check on the welfare of a citizen, ascertain if there are any medical issues that require attention, offer pastoral support, and assess the conditions of detention. Our consular officers can also act as conduits, helping to share information from and to loved ones in Ireland if that is required by the citizen. I understand that the conditions of detention in the case referred to by the Deputy are the same as those of any other person in their situation, which includes access to video calls and in-person visits. Prisoners at the facility in question also have access to a social worker. I understand that court proceedings in this case started yesterday. As laid out in the consular assistance charter, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its embassies and consulates abroad are precluded from intervening in the judicial and legal processes of another country. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to comment on the ongoing legal case. The Deputy asked that we send monitors to the trial. I will bring this back to the Minister. I assure the Deputy that the Department will continue to provide all necessary and appropriate consular assistance to the citizen and their family.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. As I mentioned, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is fully aware of this case and has provided all appropriate consular assistance to the citizen and their family since September 2025 and will continue to do so. The Department, through its consulate general in Munich, has been in regular contact with the citizen since their detention began, and a series of consular visits has been possible to verify that the conditions of their detention are in line with those of other detainees.
Sentiment score: -0.08
Our embassies and consulates overseas play a vital role in providing support to Irish citizens who have been arrested or detained, and this is a core part of our consular assistance mandate. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is precluded from intervening in the judicial and legal processes of another country in the provision of consular assistance. I will bring Deputy Boyd Barrett's views back to the Department.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Rattoo Round Tower, national monument No. 55, is a national monument in the ownership of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and is maintained by the Office of Public Works. In recent years, as the Deputy outlined, an ongoing programme of repairs has been undertaken, which included the regrouting and repointing of stonework and the installation of a platform to facilitate safe height access for future maintenance. The substantial works on Rattoo Round Tower are now complete and it is envisaged internal lime-washing will be done in the coming weeks when the walls have sufficiently dried out after the winter. Upon completion of the repairs, as previously advised, the OPW will issue a full report to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as required under the terms of ministerial consent. The OPW intends to introduce a new interpretation service at Rattoo Round Tower that will explain its history and context in Ireland's early Christian heritage. The OPW would welcome community stakeholder engagement during this process. That is what the Deputy called for - information signage to be put up and that will be helpful. It also hopes to be in a position to facilitate internal access to the tower for Heritage Week 2026. The logistics are currently being considered and the main factors contributing to this will be an appropriate outside access structure and the form it will take. That is the platform the Deputy is looking for. I think it will be delivered as well. As the Deputy is aware, there are challenges with access to the tower given the tall, slender structure with its confined internal spaces and steep vertical climbs. For the future, it will be necessary to undertake a safety audit of how visitors can access the areas within the tower, given the limitations of its upper floors. The Deputy also said that 15 years sounds like an incredibly long time and I suppose the locals in Ballyduff are anxious that the tower open as quickly as possible. It is interesting to hear it is of international archeological importance. The more we can do to open these facilities and heritage areas, which are much treasured, the better.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I reiterate that the OPW remains committed to the conservation and protection of Rattoo Round Tower. Repair works will ensure the long-term preservation of the monument and provide the foundation for a careful reassessment of the extent to which internal public access may be possible. The OPW looks forward to the completion of this project and welcoming the Deputy and the local community to view the interior of Rattoo Round Tower in the not-too-distant future. The Deputy is absolutely right that this is an area of conservation. We also have heritage sites all around the country and sometimes we take them for granted. We probably did so. The Deputy outlined that German tourists came especially to see Rattoo Round Tower and Clonmacnoise. We have others. In our area, we have Moygara Castle, Carrowkeel, Sligo Abbey and Carrowmore and it is amazing to see people come who say they are there for the megalithic tombs or whatever. We sometimes take them for granted so I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I will discuss it with the Minister again tomorrow.
Sentiment score: 0.25