The Government says it will "contribute in any way" to help secure the release of senior aid worker Ms Margaret Hassan, who was seized by kidnappers in Baghdad yesterday on her way to work.
The Taoiseach last night joined the appeals for the release of Ms Hassan, the Irish-born head of the Care International agency, who was kidnapped just before 8 a.m. local time yesterday. The Al Jazeera television station later showed footage of her sitting alone and looking anxious, but apparently unharmed.
Mr Ahern stressed her Irish connection in an interview last night with Sky television. "We really want to emphasise that Margaret is an Irish citizen," he said. "She has integrated and worked herself into Iraqi life . . . but she is an Irish citizen."
As efforts continued to find out who had kidnapped her, the Taoiseach said Ms Hassan had dedicated her life to helping ordinary Iraqi people. "She is a good person who has just worked for Iraqis through good days and bad days."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, said he and his officials "stand ready to contribute in any way we can to help secure her release".
Ms Hassan, in her fifties, was born Margaret Fitzsimons in Ireland to Irish parents. She was raised in Britain and married an Iraqi, now a retired economist. She moved to Iraq 32 years ago.
Mr Dermot Ahern issued a statement yesterday confirming Ms Hassan's Irish birth amid considerable concern last night about media reports identifying her as solely British. This raised fears among observers that Britain's involvement in the war against Iraq would damage her chances of a safe release.
Ms Hassan was reported by British media last night to hold a British passport.
As efforts continued in Iraq to find out who had kidnapped her and why, Al Jazeera also showed close-ups of Ms Hassan's identification cards. The station said it had received a claim of responsibility from an unnamed Iraqi group.
Mr Dermot Ahern confirmed that she had acquired Iraqi citizenship: in 1980 the Saddam Hussein regime required all foreigners married to Iraqis and living in the country to become Iraqi citizens. Like everyone born in Ireland to Irish parents, she retains Irish citizenship unless she formally renounces it. She may therefore be in the very unusual position of holding triple citizenship.
While she appears not to hold an Irish passport, a spokeswoman for Mr Ahern said she would automatically receive one if a request were made. She added that the Department was in contact with her family, with the British Foreign Office, the Iraqi authorities and Care International.
The chief executive of Care International, Mr Geoffrey Dennis, said last night he had no idea why she was kidnapped. Ms Hassan had championed the cause of ordinary Iraqis for many years and sought to highlight the suffering of ordinary people as a result of sanctions imposed during the 1990s.
"Mrs Hassan is a long-term resident of Iraq and has acquired Iraqi citizenship," the Minister said. "My officials have already been in touch with her immediate family. I am very concerned about Mrs Hassan's safety and I and my officials stand ready to contribute in any way we can to help secure her release. Our thoughts and prayers are with Margaret and her family at this difficult time."
Care International is one of the few charities still operating at full strength in Iraq. Since the war, it has been rehabilitating health centres and laboratories, providing emergency medical supplies to hospitals and helping to restore access to clean water.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, condemned the kidnapping and said his government would do "whatever we can".
"This is someone who has lived in Iraq for 30 years, someone who is immensely respected, someone who is doing their level best to help the country. I think it shows you the type of people we are up against."
He added: "We will do whatever we can, obviously."