Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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214. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extra resources and personnel that will be deployed to the Irish Embassy in Paris and the Irish Honorary Consulate offices in France during the upcoming UEFA football championship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11938/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The European Championships are taking place against a backdrop of heightened security concerns in France, which remains in a state of National Emergency since the terrorist attacks of 13 November. Our advice to Irish citizens intending to travel to France is that they should exercise a high degree of caution. Detailed travel advice is available on my Department’s website –www.dfa.ie and I would encourage all those considering travel to France to study it carefully. In view of the large numbers of Irish fans expected to travel, and the exceptional security situation in France, my Department has been developing and implementing a comprehensive action plan to ensure that Embassy of Ireland in Paris is supported in its capacity to deal with the likely increased consular demand over the course of the European Championship.My Department is working closely with An Garda Síochána, the Football Association of Ireland and travel industry representatives on planning and preparation. Our Ambassador in Paris, Geraldine Byrne-Nason and her team have been working intensively with UEFA and the relevant national and local authorities in France in relation to all aspects of planning.

In terms the additional personnel being made available, the Embassy will be reinforced with an additional five experienced officers redeployed from Headquarters in Dublin. Officials will be present on the ground in Paris, Bordeaux and Lille around match dates to provide advice and emergency consular assistance to Irish citizens in difficulty.

Additional resources have also been allocated and there will be a dedicated Euro2016 consular phone line operational 7 days a week from 10 June at 00 33 1441 76780. Specialised consular and emergency response training has been delivered to the staff at the Embassy and additional communications and IT equipment has also been provided in order to enhance our consular capacity. Furthermore, additional financial resources have been allocated to the Embassy to cover extra transport, communications and other costs during the period of the tournament.

The Consular Division of the Department is working very closely with the Embassy in Paris on contingency planning and, in this context, organised a crisis simulation exercise on May 4 which also involved participation by Garda representatives and the FAI. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has prepared an information campaign targeted at travelling football fans to help them be as well-informed and prepared as possible in advance of the tournament. I launched this campaign on April 18th highlighting the “First Eleven” travel tips for Irish fans. A dedicated microsite has been published in order to relay all of the Department’s key information in relation to the tournament: www.dfa.ie/euo2016.A printed information leaflet will be distributed at the upcoming friendly matches at the Aviva stadium and will be provided to airports, ferry ports, and Irish pubs in France and pushed out on social media.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will launch a Travel App in June that will be a valuable source of information for Irish citizens abroad and will be an important communications tool for our Government’s consular response in the event of any emergency abroad.