The Dáil united yesterday behind a motion calling for the unknown abductors of Ms Margaret Hassan in Iraq to release the Irish born aid worker, amid growing concern for her safety.
The Taoiseach pledged to use Ireland's international contacts "in a way which will best bring Irish influence to bear", as efforts continued in Baghdad to identify her kidnappers and their motive.
The Government was joined by the Iraqi government and the British Prime Minister yesterday in appealing for Ms Hassan's release. A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government did not want to give details of its activity in the case because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs stressed that they would be guided by the advice and views of Ms Hassan's husband, Care International and others on the ground in Iraq. These are "best placed to tell us how, and when, we can best be of further help".
He said the Government was "staying in active contact with our embassy staff in the region, and in particular the ambassador in Cairo". Meanwhile, Care International the humanitarian agency of which Ms Hassan was the director in Iraq, said it was suspending its operations in the country pending her release.
Scores of foreigners, from aid workers and engineers to fuel tanker drivers, have been kidnapped since April and at least 35 have been killed, several of them beheaded. Ms Hassan is believed to be the eighth foreign woman to be abducted. All the others have been released unharmed.
Her husband, Mr Tahseen Ali Hassan, made a plea on Arabic television yesterday, saying his wife had been helping Iraq for three decades. "In the name of humanity, Islam and brotherhood, I appeal to the kidnappers to free her because she has nothing to do with politics," he told the Al-Arabiya station.
Mr Dermot Ahern said he had spoken by telephone to Mr Hassan in Baghdad yesterday "and conveyed the concern and solidarity of the Government, this House and the people of Ireland to him". He and his officials have also been in contact with members of Ms Hassan's family in Kerry and London.
The Dáil unanimously passed a motion which stressed Ms Hassan's Irish birth and said she had "spent the past 30 years in Iraq devoting herself to humanitarian work". The Dáil adjourned yesterday afternoon to hold a short debate on the matter. The motion also condemned the practice of hostage taking and called for the release of all hostages.
The Government and the political parties hope that drawing attention to her Irish background and commitment to Iraq will attract international media attention and persuade her kidnappers to let her go. "It is very important that it is known that she is Irish," the Taoiseach said. "That may not have been known. We have to stand up for our own." He said the Government's appeals for her release had received widespread international coverage, including in the Middle East.
Ms Hassan was born in Ireland to Irish parents. Her family left to live in Britain when she was very young. The Department of Foreign Affairs says its records do not show that Ms Hassan holds or ever held an Irish passport, although as an Irish citizen she is entitled to one. The British government has said she holds a British passport, and an Iraqi passport.
Prayers were said in the Holy Cross Church, Kenmare, Co Kerry, yesterday for Ms Hassan, whose mother Mary Fitzsimons (née Sugrue), from Reen , Kenmare, now lives in England. Ms Hassan's father, Peter Fitzsimons, was from Dublin. Ms Hassan's sister, Mrs Geraldine Riney, her husband, Mr Jerry Riney , and their three children live outside Kenmare at Killowen.