Tánaiste Simon Harris has said that the government will leave “no stone unturned” in securing the release of an Irish woman kidnapped in Haiti.
Gena Heraty, from Westport in County Mayo, was taken with several other people and a three-year-old child from the Sainte-Helene orphanage, 10km southeast of the capital Port au Prince.
Ms. Heraty, who is in her mid-50s, oversees the facility which is run by humanitarian organisation Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris, condemned the kidnapping.
“The kidnapping of Irish citizen Gena Heraty, along with seven of her colleagues and a three-year-old child from the grounds of an orphanage in Kenscoff, Haiti, is deeply worrying,” he said.
“Gena has served the people of Haiti for over 30 years.
“She had dedicated her life to supporting the most vulnerable people in Haiti and it is imperative that she is released immediately.
“This morning, I had a good conversation with Gena’s sister Noreen and I assured her that all is being done to ensure Gena’s release.
“My Department is in close contact with the Heraty family, local authorities and Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs, the organisation Gena works for. The country’s two ambassadors are also in close contact. We will continue to leave no stone unturned to ensure Gena and her colleagues are released.”
Last year, speaking on RTÉ Ms. Heraty said the situation in Haiti was “awful."
“And the gangs who have been taking over the country steadily in the last two years I suppose… they have now banded together, you can not imagine it.
“We are talking about hundreds and thousands of people that are pushed out of their homes because the gangs come in with huge guns, you know serious artillery and pushing people out, raping women, burning people in front of their families.
“So, these people have nowhere to go, and then the gang takes over that area.”
