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Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has confirmed that three Irish nationals have gotten out of Afghanistan but the number still awaiting exit has increased to 36.
Among those who have gotten out is Meath woman Aoife MacManus, he told RTÉ radio’s Today show. Mr Coveney declined to provide details of how the education worker got out of Kabul.
The 36 who remained were working with international organisations or NGOs, he said. All of them have been contacted by the Irish embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Government was working with NATO, the US, the UK and the EU to get the people on flights.
Some of the 36 had dual nationalities, explained Mr Coveney. “We have a responsibility to all of them.”
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The main challenge at present was getting the people into the airport complex. There were difficulties getting people from outlying areas into Kabul and from Kabul city to the airport, he explained.
The easiest way to get Irish citizens out of Kabul was working with other countries which had greater capacity to send in aircraft, added Mr Coveney.
Responding to a suggestion by independent TD Cathal Berry that the Irish Army Ranger wing should be sent to Kabul to assist in the exit of Irish citizens, Mr Coveney said that while the rangers were competent and skilled, the most effective way was to work with partners on the ground who were managing the situation.
People were getting out, he said, but the process was fluid and slow and was changing every day.