Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2016
731. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if each Irish embassy and honorary consul general office has an emergency out-of-hours telephone number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1499/16]
View answerAll missions have systems for out-of-hours contact.
Public contact details for Irish diplomatic and consular missions abroad are listed on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website and are also available in various publications, such as for example the Institute of Public Administration yearbook.
In addition, each Mission (Embassies and Consulates General) has its own website which lists in full the Mission’s telephone and email details, as well as emergency contact details for Irish citizens who may need urgent assistance outside normal working hours.
In many cases, phone answering-machines are used and messages are regularly checked by on-call or duty personnel at the mission outside of normal hours. In the case of larger missions and those with a busier consular workload, dedicated Duty Officers are designated on weekends and public holidays.
