2. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to reports from a recent cross-party delegation of seven Oireachtas Members to the trial of an Irish citizen in Germany, where delegates observed serious procedural issues, and further to her personal assurances that she would be monitoring, keeping a very close eye and providing direct and fair oversight and full sight of the trial, the exact way in which she can provide this without consular observers attending the trial, given the absence of a neutral court transcript, and given that trial observation does not constitute an intervention under the Vienna Convention. [69687/26]

Daniel Tatlow-Devally has been locked up for 23 hours a day in a German prison for 13 months, having taken part in a protest, in which no human being was hurt, against an arms manufacturer providing weapons to Israel to commit its crimes. His family, myself and a cross-party delegation who went over in July to witness the trial believe he is not getting a fair trial and we have repeatedly asked the Minister to send observers to that trial. Despite conveying the impression she is doing that, in actuality she has not done it. Will she send observers to the trial to give some sort of oversight to ensure this show trial is at least observed?

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising this matter. I know he travelled recently with a number of colleagues from my own party and others to Germany specifically to engage with Daniel and his family. I am aware my officials have facilitated that and provided support and we will continue to provide that support to the Deputy and, most important, to his family.

I am following developments very closely and will continue to do so because at the heart of this an Irish citizen is going through a very difficult time, as are his family. Our focus as a Department has to be the welfare of our Irish citizens, whether they are in prison or on trial. Whatever the circumstances, it is about making sure we have compassionate, non-judgmental consular assistance to ensure the well-being of our Irish citizens. That has been my focus and my priority and, indeed, that of our team.

We have a consulate general in Munich, supported by our embassy in Berlin. Our consular assistance unit in Dublin has been providing assistance since September 2025. We have a dedicated consular officer in Munich assigned to the case. Consulate staff, including the consul general, have visited Daniel in prison on seven occasions, most recently on 1 September. Generally when someone is in this situation, there are about two visits a year. There have been seven visits over the last year because of the issues that have been raised and because I am very keen that we engage directly with Daniel and his family. A further visit is scheduled for this week, which reflects a higher level of engagement than we would generally have. These visits allow us to assess the conditions of detention and Daniel's welfare. They are also an opportunity for him to raise with us any concerns about his treatment. We have been very clear in asking him to raise any issues where they emerge.

Germany shares our foundational commitment to the rule of law as a member state of the European Union. While we recognise that laws and practices can differ greatly across the world, we do expect that for a member of the European Union with which we have shared values and commitments, those practices will be upheld. Naturally, though, there are aspects of the legal process in Germany that may operate differently from a legal process here in Ireland. Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned the formal transcription of court hearings being a common practice in Ireland. It is, absolutely. My understanding, and what has been relayed to me, is that it is not uncommon for a presiding judge in that jurisdiction to dictate a formal summary of the proceedings into the official record. I have other examples of cases that have been brought to me where the jurisdiction has done things differently, but it is not specific to the Irish individual. I have to stress that we are monitoring and keeping a very close eye on this.

In recent correspondence about this case, the Minister wrote that her Department was satisfied that Daniel was being treated equally before the law compared with any German citizen in his situation. I went to the court in Stammheim. It is reserved for terrorists and organised criminals. Daniel is neither and nobody is suggesting he is, so why is he in that court? No other German citizen in that situation would be in that court for what he is accused of. In the court next door, there were people from a far-right group who had been engaged in an armed coup against the German state and who had discharged weapons, and some of them were out on bail. Daniel has been refused bail. These are people who threatened the German state being treated better than Daniel is. The Minister, in response to us, has said that she is monitoring the case and keeping a close eye on it, and will have direct and fair oversight and full sight of the trial. The Taoiseach even said we had sent observers on Tuesday. The Minister has not sent anybody to the trial. We were there as a cross-party group including, as she said, members of her own party. It is a show trial. It is not a fair trial. Daniel's legal team say they have never seen anything like it. Will the Minister send observers?

Based on what Deputy Boyd Barrett has just said about the comparison, I am happy to engage further with Daniel's family to see what more we can do. Germany is a country of the EU and we expect the rules to apply, and their court systems and structures to uphold the values we share. I am conscious of what the Deputy has said and what has been relayed to me by colleagues as well. We are keeping oversight of what is happening. We are engaging extensively with Daniel. We are speaking directly to him and his family because, first and foremost, our role is to make sure the welfare of Irish citizens is protected. I appreciate he is in prison, so it is difficult to square those two aspects. At the same time, we have an obligation to make sure Irish citizens are treated fairly. I will follow up with the Deputy on this and see if there is something further we can do. I do stress that among the many different teams engaged on this within Germany, our consular teams are engaging and have full oversight of what is happening in the court. I will follow up directly with Deputies Boyd Barrett and Barry Ward after this to see if there is more we can do.

For a start, the Minister should just send observers. Frankly, I would like her to go further. The defendants are kept in glass cages. When we were there, security people were blocking us from just seeing through the glass. They cannot communicate properly with their legal team during the trial. They have to depend on interpretation, which means they cannot hear the actual proceedings. They are being treated as if they are terrorists when they are clearly not. The Oireachtas Members and MEPs had pens and paper physically taken off us, so we could not take notes in the court.

It is unbelievable. Not a single motion put forward by the defence is given by the judge. She just ignores everything the defence says. It is a complete show trial. Something needs to be done. What is being done to them is politically motivated. I am asking the Minister to stop conveying the impression that we are observing when we are not and to send observers to watch the trial. The Minister is signed up to European guidelines on human rights defenders, as is Germany, which recommends sending trial observers, yet we will not do it. I do not understand why we are not doing it. I fear it is something to do with not wanting to embarrass the German Government and that has to stop.

I completely refute that. I have raised this directly with my German colleague. I have no issue in raising this case or highlighting where there are issues of concern. I have consistently stated that the role of our consulate and our teams, first and foremost, is to protect and support our Irish citizens. It is not to provide legal advice, nor to contradict or take on the role of the legal advisers. Daniel and his family have a legal team that is supporting them. I have said clearly today that I am happy to engage further based on what the Deputy has just outlined. Another case has been highlighted to me of an Irish citizen who is abroad, where the criminal justice system is different and where the rules being applied are similar to rules applied to other citizens, not just our own. We have to take that into consideration. The Deputy has just outlined another case that I was not aware of, which sounds completely different and contradictory. I am happy to engage further with the Deputy on this and see if there is more we can do.