Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin T.D. conveys condolences to the Indian Ambassador and details Irish Government response.

Speaking today in Dublin after a phone call to the Indian Ambassador, Mr. P.S Raghavan, Minister Martin said:

"I have just spoken with Ambassador Raghavan to convey my sincere condolences on behalf of the Irish people at this tragic time. Relations between India and Ireland have always been close and I wanted to assure him of our sympathy and prayers. As we in Ireland know all too well terrorist atrocities such as these serve no purpose except to kill and injure innocent victims, Indian and foreign alike, and to sow panic and suspicion.

I expressed the hope to the Ambassador that the Indian authorities will be able to resolve the current situation without further loss of life and that those who carried out or plotted these attacks will be brought to justice.

I am relieved that to date we have no reports of Irish casualties and we have no indications of any Irish among the hostages. We are in direct contact with Irish citizens in Mumbai and are offering consular assistance.

I have instructed diplomatic staff from our Embassy in New Delhi to travel immediately to Mumbai to set up a crisis centre for Irish citizens at our Honorary Consulate there.

If anybody is worried about a relative in Mumbai, I would advise them to phone the Consular Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs on 01 4780822 and my staff will endeavour to check on their wellbeing. The Department has updated its travel advice on India and details can be found on our website www.dfa.ie"

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Press

27/11/08