Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the response by each Irish embassy or consulate by location regarding the manning of out of hours service provided to the public by each such embassy or mission during the recent aviation crisis; the number of calls received; if emergency funding was requested and provided; the policy regarding the way medical queries were dealt with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17068/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The disruption to international aviation which resulted from the emission of volcanic ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull was unprecedented. As the Deputy is aware, airlines are legally responsible for the provision of accommodation and subsistence for stranded passengers under EU Regulation 261/2004. However, it rapidly became clear that because of the shutdown of European airspace and the huge numbers of stranded passengers affected that many of the airlines simply could not cope with the situation and that the State would have to intervene.

It is not possible to give an accurate figure on the number of Irish citizen stranded, however, following discussions with the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) and based on media reports it is estimated that the figure was somewhere between 15,000 to 30,000.

My Department provides a full time consular emergency service both in Dublin and in all our missions abroad. This service can be accessed abroad after normal office hours by phoning the local Embassy/Consulate and obtaining the mission duty officer number or alternatively by leaving a message on the answer machine which is checked regularly. I am satisfied that this service was fully operational during the recent disruption in aviation transport, including at the Embassy in Madrid, which operated a full 24-hours duty service, logged all contacts made throughout the weekend and, I am assured, responded promptly to all calls received. In addition to this regular service, I decided on Sunday 18 April, in response to the growing disruption and increasing number of citizens stranded abroad, to activate the Department's Consular Crisis Centre, based in Dublin.

Staff in the Crisis Centre and our overseas Missions went to considerable effort over the period of the disruption to assist our citizens affected by the travel disruption. It is estimated that our Missions, which were in the front line of dealing with the huge numbers of distressed Irish people on the ground and who worked around the clock, received in excess of 4,000 telephone contacts over the period of the disruption. Our Embassy and Consulates in Spain alone are believed to have received about 1,500 calls. In Dublin, the Consular Crisis Centre received 2,637 calls.

Our offices provided practical advice and information on accommodation, on over-land transport options, including international train and bus and ferry connections and car rental options, and, where possible, information on availability. The travel advice on the Department's website was regularly updated late into the evenings and was widely regarded as providing the most comprehensive and authoritative information for Irish travellers seeking to return home.

Our Embassies also assisted Irish citizens to get access to medicines, replenishing supplies of prescription drugs and medical treatment for those with specific health needs and the advice given concerning the faxing of Irish prescriptions to local practitioners appeared to work well. My Department provided limited emergency funding to a number of citizens who were in dire financial and medical need subject to the usual strict conditions relating to the advance of State funds.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the efforts of all those in my Department at home and abroad and to our Honorary Consuls and their staff who did so much to provide support, reassurance and advice to those trying to get home during the recent travel disruption. Their performance was representative of the public service at its best.