Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join with the Minister in extending our sincere sympathies to the families who lost loved ones in that terrible atrocity. We had an opportunity at the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee to pass on our condolences and condemn this massacre of innocent people in the strongest possible manner.

Following the upgrade in advice given by the Department, has there been an increase in registrations with the Department of people proposing to travel abroad to areas where there is conflict or instability? We are all guilty of travelling to such areas but not registering with the Department. One of the reasons I tabled this question was to get a better awareness among people that they should register with the Department if they are travelling to such countries.

I take the opportunity again to compliment the Minister and his departmental officials on the timely and worthy manner in which they made every effort to assist those families affected in these most difficult of circumstances. I know the Department and its officials abroad do us all proud in their work at the most difficult of times when such families are so vulnerable and need assistance to minimise in some way the desperate hardship and trauma they are going through at that time.

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