STATEMENT BY MICHAEL D HIGGINS TD

Labour Party President and Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs
Wednesday, 02 July 2008

GOVT MUST MAKE PROVISION FOR SAFE EVACUATION OF IRISH FROM ZIMBABWE

The Minister for Foreign Affairs must be geared up to act immediately
should it prove necessary to evacuate Irish citizens from Zimbabwe.

In reply to a Dail Question, (see below) Minister Martin told me that there
are about 2,000 Irish citizens living in Zimbabwe, including members of
religious orders and NGO workers. The Minister should be able to reassure
them that if conditions deteriorate, he will be in a position to offer them
whatever assistance they need to leave the country quickly and safely.

The recommendation from the Minister to Irish Citizens in Zimbabwe “to keep
a low profile” and to “exercise a high degree of caution” is probably good
advice, but if providing advice represents the full extent of the measures
that he has in place, Irish people would be quite right to feel worried.

The crisis in Zimbabwe is escalating into a major human rights issue, not
just for southern Africa but for the entire international community.

The Minister should make contact with the Honorary Consul of Ireland in
Harare, the Irish Embassy in South Africa, and the British Embassy in
Zimbabwe and draw up a contingency plan that can be put in place quickly
and efficiently, and I will be pressing him to do this as a matter of
priority.

Ends-

Parliamentary Question - Dept Details

To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of Irish Citizens living
in Zimbabwe; and the diplomatic and consular steps which have been put in
place for an evacuation of Irish citizens from Zimbabwe should any of these
persons wish to take this step.

- Michael D. Higgins.

* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 1st July, 2008.

Ref No: 25917/08

To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contingency arrangements in
place, including discussions he may have had with the Department of justice
Equality and Law Reform, on such issues as status and other aspects of
citizenship, entitlement and social provision, as may arise following the
evacuation of Irish from Zimbabwe to Ireland.
- Michael D. Higgins.

* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 1st July, 2008.

Ref No: 25918/08

REPLY

I propose to take Question 338 and 339 together.

The Government are and have for some considerable time been very concerned
about the welfare of the Irish community in Zimbabwe.

In the last two years, the Irish Abroad Unit of the Department has
supported two Irish community organisations in that country, the
Mashonaland Irish Association and the Bulawayo Irish Association. This
funding is provided for welfare and administrative needs.

In the same period, the Irish Abroad Unit has also provided funding to Safe
Home Ltd, the voluntary organisation which supports elderly Irish emigrants
who wish to return to Ireland. In this regard, Safe Home has housed a
number of older Irish citizens who decided to leave Zimbabwe and return to
Ireland due to their dire economic circumstances.

The Embassy in Pretoria, which is accredited to Zimbabwe, stays in on-going
contact with the Irish community in that country. In addition, the
Ambassador and staff from the Embassy visit Zimbabwe regularly and meet
with members of the Irish community, including religious and
representatives of Irish NGOs working in Zimbabwe.

There are in the region of 2,000 Irish citizens still resident in Zimbabwe
and our current advice, as outlined on our website, strongly recommends
Irish citizens there to keep a low profile, exercise a high degree of
caution, monitor local media for developments and avoid all areas where
demonstrations may be held, or where there are large gatherings of people.
They should not travel unnecessarily, especially at night. Where possible,
they should remain in built up areas and avoid the commercial centre of
Harare.

They are also advised to register their details and those of their families
with the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Harare, and also with the local
British Embassy, with which we have a standing arrangement to assist in the
provision of emergency consular assistance to Irish citizens. They should
ensure that their travel documents are up to date and readily available in
case they need to leave the country at short notice.

My Department’s further advises all Irish Citizens resident there to
regularly monitor travel advice issued by my Department.

All Irish citizens have the right of entry into this State. There is no
particular need, therefore, to have specific discussions with the
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform other than to keep that
Department generally informed of the overall situation.

Finally, I should emphasise that the Department is advising against all
travel to Zimbabwe at the present time.