Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2015
89. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in view of the recent terrorist attack in Tunisia, the protocols and procedures his Department has in effect to ensure the safety of Irish citizens travelling throughout the world; if his Department has consulted with his Government and European colleagues with regard to ensuring the security of Irish citizens abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28624/15]
View answerOn 26 June, 38 people were murdered at random in a holiday resort in Tunisia. Those victims included three Irish people. That massacre of innocent people by terrorists awakened in all of us the need to be more vigilant when we prepare to travel to some countries where there is instability or ongoing conflict. Does the Minister ensure that all travel advice offered by his Department is updated regularly and is robust enough to provide the best possible assistance and guidance to Irish people who propose to travel to some particular destinations?
We have all been deeply shocked and saddened by the recent event at Sousse in Tunisia, where three Irish citizens lost their lives in this terrible atrocity. I condemn unreservedly these terrorist attacks and other recent attacks elsewhere. I take this opportunity to again convey my deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the families of the three Irish citizens who lost their lives in the tragedy.
Officials in my Department and our embassy in Madrid were immediately deployed to respond to the consular needs of Irish citizens who were caught up in the attack. In responding to crisis situations where Irish citizens may be affected, my Department has a detailed emergency consular response plan in place and a standing emergency consular response centre that can be activated at short notice to provide assistance and advice to citizens and their families. The response centre was activated once news of the attack in Sousse was received by the Department and remained in operation until 6 p.m. the following day, Saturday.
To assist those travelling overseas to make well-informed decisions, the Government publishes country specific travel advice on my Department’s website. This advice is published to make useful information available to assist Irish citizens when planning their trips or when travelling. This advice is reviewed on an ongoing basis and is updated in the light of information received from the Department’s network of missions abroad following consultations with, or advice received from, relevant actors such as national governments, security authorities and EU partners on the ground. In particular, it is updated where there are emergency situations affecting Irish citizens or tourists generally.
In the specific case of the travel advice for Tunisia, having consulted relevant agencies and our international partners, our travel advice was changed to advise against all non-essential travel, the second-highest warning category on our five-point scale for travel advice. We are now encouraging any Irish citizens in Tunisia to review whether their presence in Tunisia is essential. Where this is not the case, we are advising them to leave by commercial means.
I join with the Minister in extending our sincere sympathies to the families who lost loved ones in that terrible atrocity. We had an opportunity at the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee to pass on our condolences and condemn this massacre of innocent people in the strongest possible manner.
Following the upgrade in advice given by the Department, has there been an increase in registrations with the Department of people proposing to travel abroad to areas where there is conflict or instability? We are all guilty of travelling to such areas but not registering with the Department. One of the reasons I tabled this question was to get a better awareness among people that they should register with the Department if they are travelling to such countries.
I take the opportunity again to compliment the Minister and his departmental officials on the timely and worthy manner in which they made every effort to assist those families affected in these most difficult of circumstances. I know the Department and its officials abroad do us all proud in their work at the most difficult of times when such families are so vulnerable and need assistance to minimise in some way the desperate hardship and trauma they are going through at that time.
Deputy Smith makes an important point in respect of registration. In addition to publishing travel advice and ensuring the travel advice is constantly under review and updated in accordance with the information received and the circumstances on the ground, we operate a citizen registration facility which allows Irish citizens to register their contact details with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure they are easily contactable in the event of an emergency. There has been an increase in registration and I would avail of the opportunity to advise on the importance of registration. I would encourage and advise all travellers, particular those who are travelling to remote destinations or locations where they may be at risk, to register on the Department's website. Registration can be completed on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, www.dfa.ie. While we encourage travellers to register their details, it is not possible for us to compel citizens to avail of this facility. They are under no obligation to do so but I would strongly recommend that they do, and I am sure everybody in the House would agree with that advice.
Will the Minister give a clear assurance on Irish citizens' rights to seek assistance from other EU member state embassies in countries where we do not have diplomatic representation and that the European External Action Service is available to citizens where Ireland does not have diplomatic representation? Will the Minister also give an assurance that this issue and the issue of the terrorist threat that exists in many places at present will be issues for major discussion at the forthcoming Foreign Affairs Council?
Could he also give us an assurance that our diplomatic service remains in constant contact with colleagues from other diplomatic services on potential threats that exist in countries where Irish citizens may be travelling as well and that it is not only in the aftermath of a terrorist attack that we collate as much information but that such should be ongoing at all times?
In Tunisia and a number of destinations where Irish citizens travel, we do not have a resident full-time ambassadorial presence. In that regard, we rely significantly on our good relations with neighbour states, in particular, EU states. There is a positive and active relationship to ensure we have assistance on the ground in the first instance but also that we have the appropriate information by way of intelligence, advice and guidance that may be available to states that have a specific presence on the ground in any appropriate jurisdiction.
In response to the massacre in Tunisia, an extraordinary meeting of the Political and Security Committee was convened in Brussels on 28 June. During the course of this meeting, the Irish representative to the committee raised a number of issues stating that the goal of terrorists is not only to attack foreigners but also to undermine the democratic process in the birthplace of the Arab spring. The European Union and its member states must do all they can to assist the Tunisians in preventing the terrorists from achieving these objectives.
I expect this matter will be the subject of discussion at the forthcoming European Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels next week. I would say that we need an assessment as to whether there is more the European Union can do to assist Tunisia in countering radicalisation, delivering capacity building against violent extremism and ensuring there is an element of training assistance on the matter of counter-terrorism.
We need to work with the Tunisians to ensure the best possible level of co-operation between the security services on the matter of intelligence sharing. I assure the Deputy that, as regards countries in which we do not have a full-time presence on the ground, we will ensure through our good and positive relations with EU partners that the best advice will be available to us. In the case of Tunisia, I acknowledge the rapid response of our embassy in Madrid that has specific accreditation in Tunis. Its team were on the ground in Tunisia within a matter of hours.
