Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 311: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of Irish citizens permanently residing here who have died in each EU country in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24907/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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All Irish citizens, whether resident in Ireland or abroad, are entitled to seek consular assistance from my Department. As a result, statistics on deaths abroad of Irish citizens are not broken down on a residency in Ireland or overseas basis. Moreover, the assistance of the Department is on many occasions not sought by the next of kin when a death occurs abroad, particularly in the case of Great Britain.

I am setting out as follows the aggregate breakdown by EU country (other than Great Britain) of the number of deaths abroad during the period 2002 to the present where the Department's assistance was requested. This shows that assistance was sought in some 571 such cases.