Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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5. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of Irish citizens repatriated back to the island of Ireland after dying abroad in the past three years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24512/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides consular assistance to Irish citizens who get into difficulty abroad within the remit of its Consular Assistance Charter. The provision of consular assistance is a cornerstone of the work of my Department and I place a strong emphasis on ensuring that our citizens receive timely and empathetic consular assistance.

My Department publishes consular assistance statistics on an annual basis. These statistics provide an overview of the different types of cases where assistance has been provided for each year. The Deputy can view the consular assistance statistics at this link: www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/overseas-travel/assistance-abroad/consular-statistics/

Each year, my Department provides consular assistance to families of citizens who have died overseas. My Department does not record data regarding the number of citizens who have been repatriated each year to the island of Ireland. In many cases where a citizen dies overseas, officials in my Department work closely with the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. I want to acknowledge the work of the Trust and the support that it, too, provides to Irish citizens who pass away overseas.

In 2024, my Department was notified of the deaths of 413 Irish citizens overseas. This figure only represents those cases where my Department, including Ireland's Embassies and Consulates, was notified of the death of an Irish citizen, and does not necessarily reflect the total number of Irish citizens who died overseas that year. The figures for the number of deaths reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the years 2014-2024 is detailed below in tabular form.