Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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100. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will detail any recent improvements or plans to expand consular services for Irish citizens, especially in light of increased travel difficulties and crises worldwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42595/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs has a long and proud track record of providing high quality consular services to Irish citizens abroad. This is a vital public service and a key priority of my Department.

Our commitment is to promote an informed approach to international travel and support citizens when they require consular assistance abroad, including during large-scale consular crises.

The Department provides responsive and empathetic consular assistance all year round within the remit of its Consular Assistance Charter. The Consular Assistance Charter sets out in an accessible and clear manner the type of assistance Irish citizens can expect to receive should they require assistance abroad.

As part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to ensure it continues to deliver high-quality consular assistance, the Department updated its Consular Assistance Charter in 2023. To complement the Consular Assistance Charter, the Department of Foreign Affairs also has a dedicated website that provides citizens with detailed information on the different categories of cases and the type of assistance that the Department can provide in each case. The website is reviewed on an ongoing basis and additional information is added or updated where necessary.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, as part of efforts to best support Irish citizens, works closely with a number of domestic and international partners. This engagement includes working closely with organisations such as Crosscare, Safe Home Ireland, the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and the Samaritans, amongst others. Each year the Consular Directorate brings these organisations together to further explore opportunities for enhanced cooperation and collaboration and to discuss emerging trends and challenges, all of which is focused on ensuring Irish citizens are supported to the greatest extent possible when abroad.

Throughout 2023, the Department of Foreign Affairs, including Irish Embassies and Consulates worldwide, provided consular assistance to 2,043 new cases. This figure included citizens who were assisted following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan and the Middle East. Excluding crises-related cases in Sudan and the Middle East, 2023 saw a 13% overall increase in newly-recorded consular cases. The Department of Foreign Affairs publishes consular assistance statistics at the end of each year and these statistics are available at this link: gov.ie - Tánaiste announces Consular Assistance Overview for 2023 (www.gov.ie).

To help citizens make informed decisions, the Department also provides Travel Advice to facilitate citizens in taking an informed approach to international travel. My Department’s TravelWise service is reaching more people than ever before, providing up-to-date travel advice to support safer and smarter travel.

Campaigns like this year’s Make the Right Memories, aimed at young adults, ensure sustained engagement with our message of smart and responsible travel. This campaign has been particularly successful, gaining strong traction both online and in the media, with over 14 million impressions across digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Additionally, the Office of Emergency Planning focused attention on consular messaging in their ‘Be Summer Ready’ campaign, supported by the Government of Ireland. This initiative provided essential travel advice to those going abroad and received widespread coverage across national and regional media outlets, as well as social media.

This week, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ 2024 Consular Forum takes centre stage. The Forum, the Department’s annual flagship consular outreach event, brings together key stakeholders from national and international partner organisations, as well as delegates from Embassies in Ireland, to discuss current trends and issues in consular assistance, services, and international travel.

A key highlight of this year’s forum is the launch of the TravelWise Smart Travel Preparation and Advice lesson for Senior Cycle Social, Personal, and Health Education (SPHE) students. This new lesson marks a significant step in our Department’s outreach, particularly in engaging young people, including those of school-going age. It equips students with vital knowledge and resources to make informed decisions before and during travel, often for the first time without their families. The forum also welcomed teachers and students from secondary schools who will directly benefit from the new TravelWise Smart Lesson.

Last month, my Department’s International Travel team also had a valuable outreach opportunity at the Ploughing Championships in Laois, where officials raised awareness of the resources and supports available to Irish citizens when travelling abroad. Looking ahead, we remain committed to strengthening our engagement with key stakeholders to broaden the reach of our consular messaging and ensure that all citizens are well prepared for their travels overseas.

Ireland’s capacity to support Irish citizens abroad has been enhanced through the Global Ireland Programme. The programme aims to double Ireland's international impact and influence in the period 2018 to 2025, including through an expanded and strengthened diplomatic presence. Since the launch of the programme in 2018, 22 new Missions have been opened, with another 5 new Missions announced to open. During 2024, we have opened an Embassy in Islamabad and Consulates General in Munich and Milan. Irish citizens are now choosing to visit or live in significant numbers in places that had not been traditional destinations for Irish citizens. Among the many benefits of the ongoing expansion of our diplomatic network is that it increases our capacity to provide consular assistance to citizens abroad in more locations than ever before, where our teams deliver consistent, accessible and effective services and supports to citizens across our global network.

For example, through two of Ireland’s newest Embassies, in Ukraine and Morocco, we have been able to assist citizens during very difficult events in those countries in recent years. My Department is also continuing to establish new Honorary Consulates in important locations. One of the key functions of an Honorary Consul is provide consular services and assistance to Irish citizens in a specific geographical area, particularly in countries where there is no resident diplomatic mission. In recent years, Honorary Consuls have been appointed in a range of countries including Thailand, Bangladesh, Mexico and Namibia.

The global context in which the Department works is seeing an increase in conflict and the negative effects of climate change – and at a time that Irish citizens are travelling more often, more widely and in greater numbers. As a result, the crises abroad that my Department faces are becoming more complex, more frequent and more prolonged. The Department however maintains the capability to respond quickly and at scale to crises, including with our EU and international partners.

The crisis in the Middle East over the last year has entailed a major consular dimension. Over 100 Irish citizens and dependents have left Gaza, with the assistance of my Department. Unfortunately, there is a small number of Irish citizens, and dependents, remaining in Gaza. My Department is continuing to advocate on behalf of all Irish citizens and dependents that wish to leave Gaza. More recently, my Department also assisted 26 Irish citizens to depart from Lebanon on flights operated by Ireland’s international partners. This is an example of the importance of international cooperation.

To continually meet the high standards we set ourselves, we constantly seek to adapt and evolve. Drawing on the lessons from previous crises, my Department has updated and improved our crisis management structures and protocols to ensure that we are effectively managing serious safety and security considerations for our own teams while responding to citizens’ needs; as well as managing interconnected political and humanitarian dimensions.

In the area of Consular Services, the Department provides an efficient and effective service to those seeking to marry abroad, or who require to have their documents authenticated. In 2023 we issued 3023 Certificates of freedom to marry, and 55669 documents were authenticated. For 2024 a similar figure is expected.

Furthermore, my Department remains committed to investing in the technology and systems that underpin the provision of consular assistance and services.