DESPERATE PLEAS FROM Irish citizens trapped in forced marriages and complications from medical tourism are just two of the diverse reasons why Irish people call for help from Irish diplomats.
This week The Journal looked at the work of the consular assistance service provided by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
It has been a busy few years for the 50-strong team based in Ireland, and for the diplomatic missions tasked with helping Irish people in difficulty abroad. There were 1,504 new cases last year besides the continued consular support for those still in difficulty from previous years.
One key moment in the last 12 months has been the war in Ukraine – Ireland assisted more than 100 Irish citizens seeking to leave Kyiv and other cities in February and March last.
In recent years the pandemic saw the biggest consular assistance event since the horror of September 11, with specially-trained DFA civil servants working around the clock to bring Irish people home from places as far afield as North Africa, South America and Eastern Asia.
Such was the volume of people at the outbreak of the pandemic that they were forced to charter aircraft, including from Ryanair, to take Irish holidaymakers out of North Africa and other locations.
But there was also the successful rescue of Irish citizens from Kabul, which involved a diplomatic element assisted by a close protection unit from the Army Ranger Wing.
While those largescale events were the most recent high profile operations, the work of dealing with individual cases takes up most of the unit’s time and it is those calls that are arguably most intense.
While the office is a relatively small team, there are specially trained civil servants who can be brought in at a moment’s notice to increase capacity.
Annually, 10 million trips are made abroad by Irish citizens – the vast majority of which pass off without incident. But there are still those moments where things go wrong.
Speaking to diplomatic sources this week, they revealed the intensity of the work – including a 24-hour helpline available for people in difficulty abroad.
Such is the traumatic nature of some of those calls that there are supports offered to staff.
Tragic
Sources said that tragic outcomes are a constant, and in the last 12 months, DFA figures show there has been a 21% increase in consular assistance calls and a 55% increase in Irish citizens dying abroad.
The Department has dealt with 340 incidents of deaths abroad in 2022, but sources are keen to stress that they are just the instances where they have been contacted.
Some of those deaths, it is understood, are of elderly people who had moved to places abroad in their retirement, or emigrants, but they are also losses of people in accidents and in violent deaths.
Notifications of a death are often made by relatives calling home, but sometimes events unfold differently.
Sources said such calls are sometimes made by officials in the country where the incident happened. In those cases the DFA works closely with gardaí who then go and break the news to the families of the deceased.
Often the call to the DFA helpline comes from here in Ireland when a family member seeks help, particularly in the case of when a loved one has died abroad.
A source said: “This would be a case where a family would have received a call from a relative abroad who is with the person who has passed away.”
Meanwhile, people also ring about medical issues, particularly around medical tourism. These are mostly from Turkey, where people tend to travel for cheap dental or cosmetic care.
The instances of requests associated with medical problems were 288 last year, but this figure does not break down the reasons. While medical emergencies are a regular problem, the issues associated with complications from surgery are included in those statistics.
Child abduction is also a significant problem over which the DFA interacts with citizens looking for help. Such interactions only follow and support the work of the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána investigators.
While the classic incidents of people being arrested abroad for a variety of offences takes up a lot of the work of the unit – 141 people last year – sources have said that the complexity of detention-related issues has grown massively.
While those sources do not wish to discuss specific cases, they said that a number of incidents have arisen where people were held on foot of alleged breaches of contracts.
It is understood that the complexities of these incidents are at the extreme end of what the DFA are dealing with and they have warned people to be careful of local customs and laws when engaging in business transactions.
Richard O’Halloran
One example of a case in which contract issues arose was that of Irish aircraft leasing executive Richard O’Halloran, who was held in China. He arrived home in January of 2022 to his family following a campaign for his release.
While sources we spoke to were unable to discuss the case and how it was resolved that case pivoted around a problem associated with the leasing of aircraft.
The process of dealing with the problems of a person in trouble begins with a phone call, but diplomatic sources said that much of the groundwork is laid much further in advance.
One source, who has worked as an ambassador, said that the diplomatic team in an embassy in 65 locations across the globe work to build relationships so that they can call on people when needed.
“Often the local diplomat will have built up a relationship with various people – they would know who the chief of police is, someone in a hospital, or other local authorities who would be able to get an answer.
“That ability to call someone and have the number for them is critical,” the source explained.
The issue then becomes trying to explain to people that while they offer support and advice and can help to expedite contact with local authorities, often they are limited in what they can do.
The diplomats will brief the people on the local procedures. One key issue is they cannot assign lawyers to assist in a court proceeding, but they will give a list of English speaking legal professionals who are willing to help.
That inability to directly assist can be frustrating, the diplomatic sources have said, but they have seen how even the mere presence of an Irish voice, either at the end of a phone or in person, can help to sooth the anxiety and trauma of a horrific incident.
These sorts of incidents could include visits to Irish citizens imprisoned abroad or loved ones dealing with the serious injury or death of a relative.
Pride
While deaths are traumatic incidents, the sources we spoke to told of the unit’s pride in their work in helping families to repatriate a loved one.
One key relationship they have is with the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which is an Irish charity that helps people repatriate the bodies of loved ones from abroad.
They will help when the person who died is uninsured, and can assist in bringing the remains home.
The Department also works closely with other groups such as the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas, Crosscare, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Safe Home Ireland among other agencies.
The sources said that often the delays in dealing with situations is not because of any effort to obstruct but because local laws and processes take time. For instance in some EU countries, one source said, the body of a deceased person may be held for upwards of ten days.
In conversations with the diplomatic sources it is clear that there is a great sense of purpose to the work and a pride in helping Irish people abroad.
“The unit prides itself in terms of taking that extra care. They are empathetic, they follow up and make sure that they are getting help. Quite often people may have encountered difficulties along the way, in legal cases, even repatriation.
“The embassy staff are dealing with different systems, dealing with different bureaucracies and structures, people might get frustrated, things are moving slow, or they’re not getting the answers that they would like.
“The job of the diplomat is to explain to try and assist, set expectations,” a source explained.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson stressed that the work of the unit stretched further than just the traumatic incidents.
“While we often hear about consular assistance in time of crisis and tragedy like natural disasters and deaths abroad, the Department’s consular team also provides services to Irish people getting married abroad, which requires a Certificate of Freedom to Marry, or to those who require Irish documents to be notarised for business or personal use overseas,” the spokesperson said.
Currently, preparations are underway for major sporting events such as the Men’s Rugby World Cup in France and the Women’s FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Beyond that the consular assistance team are continually updating advice for more than 200 countries world wide.
While the importance of the work can not be understated one source is keen to stress: “Remember, you are in a foreign jurisdiction – the Irish government doesn’t have control.
“It is about advice and guidance and putting you in touch with people – that is ultimately the work of the consular assistance team.”
Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs said that the service was “at the heart of the citizen services” of his Department.
“I know that officials involved in this important work, all over the world, take great pride in the extraordinary standard of support and care they provide.
“We can all be rightfully proud of the role those posted abroad undertake supporting Irish people to get home safely or enjoy the rest of their time abroad,” he said.
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