Ms Lisa Kennedy:

No. Most of it is given in the office but if the crime occurred outside Dublin, it would be given over the phone. If tourists need to come to Dublin we can arrange complimentary transport for them to do so. As I said, our priority is to try to minimise the financial outlay because in many cases the tourists are left stranded without money. We get great support from the industry. If a tourist is stranded we can offer accommodation. In many cases something will happen over a weekend. They may be due to fly on Sunday evening but because their passport has been stolen, they must remain in the country. We can at least offer them complimentary accommodation, complimentary meals and transport. We receive all that support from the industry and they are not left out of pocket in that respect. We offer emotional support also in terms of organising telephone calls to their families, money transfers, liaising with embassies and rescheduling flights with airlines. The airlines help us by not charging for the reissuing of a ticket, which for a family of four can cost €400. We receive that benefit-in-kind assistance from the industry and it does help enormously.