Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023

Introduction: There has been limited literature reporting the nature of the consular assistance provided to travellers. This study aimed to describe the consular assistance activity of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Methods: Publicly available consular assistance data (2014–2023) were anal...

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Main Authors: Alan Alby, Aoife Power, Gerard T. Flaherty
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000092
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author Alan Alby
Aoife Power
Gerard T. Flaherty
author_facet Alan Alby
Aoife Power
Gerard T. Flaherty
author_sort Alan Alby
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: There has been limited literature reporting the nature of the consular assistance provided to travellers. This study aimed to describe the consular assistance activity of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Methods: Publicly available consular assistance data (2014–2023) were analysed descriptively. Consular missions were listed under 16–19 categories. Results: A total of 26,378 consular assistance missions were recorded. The greatest proportion of missions related to COVID-19 repatriations (26.9 %, n = 7097), deaths overseas (10 %, n = 2650), and medical illness/mental health emergency abroad (11.6 %, n = 3047). Forensic incidents (arrests/victims of crime) accounted for 12.9 % (n = 3392) of consular assistance episodes. Conclusion: This study highlights the characteristics and trends of consular assistance requests received by a national governmental agency. Future studies should explore traveller awareness of consular procedures and the extent to which they are addressed in travel medicine consultations.
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spelling doaj-art-43ca8571d14e4ac887bf6c313b9a7a382025-01-24T04:44:50ZengElsevierTravel Medicine and Infectious Disease1873-04422025-03-0164102803Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023Alan Alby0Aoife Power1Gerard T. Flaherty2School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, IrelandSchool of Medicine, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, IrelandSchool of Medicine, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; School of Medicine, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Corresponding author. School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.Introduction: There has been limited literature reporting the nature of the consular assistance provided to travellers. This study aimed to describe the consular assistance activity of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Methods: Publicly available consular assistance data (2014–2023) were analysed descriptively. Consular missions were listed under 16–19 categories. Results: A total of 26,378 consular assistance missions were recorded. The greatest proportion of missions related to COVID-19 repatriations (26.9 %, n = 7097), deaths overseas (10 %, n = 2650), and medical illness/mental health emergency abroad (11.6 %, n = 3047). Forensic incidents (arrests/victims of crime) accounted for 12.9 % (n = 3392) of consular assistance episodes. Conclusion: This study highlights the characteristics and trends of consular assistance requests received by a national governmental agency. Future studies should explore traveller awareness of consular procedures and the extent to which they are addressed in travel medicine consultations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000092
spellingShingle Alan Alby
Aoife Power
Gerard T. Flaherty
Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023
Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
title Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023
title_full Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023
title_fullStr Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023
title_short Analysis of consular assistance provided to Irish citizens abroad, 2014–2023
title_sort analysis of consular assistance provided to irish citizens abroad 2014 2023
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000092
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