The Government has confirmed that a loan of some €17,000 paid by the Department of Foreign Affairs to secure the conditional release of the "Colombia Three" has been paid back in full.
The Department loaned the €17,000 as part-payment of a bond to secure the conditional release of the men last May after they were acquitted the previous month of training Farc rebels.
The men had to stay in the country while the Colombian attorney general appealed the not guilty judgment.
The current whereabouts of the three men remains unknown, but the attorney general of Colombia claimed this morning that the three are at large outside its borders.
The Irish Government has stated its surprise at the outcome of the appeal yesterday - which reversed the earlier judgement and sentenced the three men to jail terms of 17 years and over, as well as imposing heavy fines.
