Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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123. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of any reimbursement schemes for Irish citizens who paid for emergency repatriation flights to return home to Ireland upon the outbreak of Covid-19. [17105/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department undertook large scale consular operations in 2020 and 2021.  A major element of the assistance provided was the repatriation of Irish citizens from around the world.  

As a matter of ongoing policy, citizens being repatriated to Ireland in such circumstances are required to meet the costs associated with travel.  No scheme is in place, or envisaged, to reimburse citizens for the costs of repatriation flights to Ireland in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In cases where it has been established that a citizen does not have the means to pay in advance of travel, repatriation takes place on the basis of an undertaking to repay the relevant costs at a subsequent time.  Detailed procedures to oversee the recoupment of funds are in place.