AN IRISH aid worker being detained by Ethiopian border guards is expected to be released today, according to the Minister for Development Aid, Ms Joan Burton.
She said the Department of Foreign Affairs was confident the female aid worker would be released early this morning, although it could be later in the day.
The woman, Ms Burton said was "safe and not in any immediate danger" and had "got caught in a bureaucratic mix up" The Irish consul in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, had been in close contact with the Ethiopian authorities and was confident of her release.
The woman is not being named until her family has been informed. The Department does not have an original address in Ireland for the woman and is having difficulty contacting the family, which is believed to be abroad.
Other local aid workers have visited the woman, who works for the Save the Children Fund, and say she is in good health.
A spokesman said they were confident the release would take place after an official application was submitted to the authorities.
A spokeswoman for the Save the Children Fund said the woman was allowed to move about inside Ethiopia and was not "confined to any specific building", the only condition being that she not go back across the border.
The woman was detained when she strayed into Ethiopia on Friday evening with six other aid workers who planned to visit some agricultural projects.
Ms Burton said yesterday that Ireland had "excellent relations with Ethiopia through the bilateral aid programme" and the Government had "utilised all contacts in Ethiopia to have an early solution to the matter".
The woman is in her mid 30s and from the west of Ireland. She is an experienced aid administrator who has been working with the Save the Children Fund for a number of years.
It is believed the seven aid workers - the Irish woman, one British citizen and five Somalis - were advised by local people that it was safe to cross into Ethiopia at the location where the workers were detained.
The Save the Children Fund spokeswoman said the charity's information indicated no "type of force" was used in the detention.