Tánaiste launches Ireland’s updated Consular Strategy
- Published on: 25 October 2023
- Last updated on: 29 April 2025
The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin has launched the Department of Foreign Affairs’ updated Consular Strategy.
The Strategy sets out how the department, through Ireland’s expanded network of Embassies and Consulates abroad and our team in Ireland, will provide consular services to Irish citizens overseas in the years ahead. Read Ireland’s updated Consular Strategy.
The Tánaiste said:
"The Department of Foreign Affairs has a long tradition of providing high quality consular services to Irish citizens abroad. This updated Consular Strategy presents our vision for how we will improve our reach and effectiveness in the years ahead. The consular services provided by my department are a vital public service. I want to remind citizens that if they need consular assistance when abroad, they can contact the nearest Irish Embassy or Consulate at any time.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs provides consular assistance to citizens abroad in around 1,500 new cases each year, as well as supporting citizens and families involved in ongoing cases. Consular assistance is provided in cases including deaths, arrests, imprisonments, serious injuries, missing persons, citizens with mental health difficulties, and other emergencies abroad. The department also provides consular assistance to citizens caught up in natural disasters and other crises abroad.
The Tánaiste added:
"As well as supporting individual citizens overseas, my department is in a state of constant readiness to respond to crises abroad affecting Irish citizens. In the last few years we have seen consular crises occur with increasing frequency and intensity. My department responded very effectively to the recent crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Sudan and we continue to do so in relation to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. It is often at times of crisis that citizens most need support and we will continue to invest in this area so we are ready to respond rapidly and at scale when crises occur abroad.”
Citizens travelling abroad for work or leisure can check the information and advice available online at Ireland.ie/travel. The Department of Foreign Affairs provides up-to-date travel advice and information, so that citizens are informed about concerning consular trends.
Anyone planning a trip abroad is encouraged to take out comprehensive travel insurance ahead of time so they are covered for all eventualities.
The updated Consular Strategy of the Department of Foreign Affairs is organised in five interlinked and mutually reinforcing thematic strands. These are: Travel Advice; Consular Assistance; Crisis Response; Consular Services; and Strengthening How We Work. The department will implement the Strategy with partners from across Government, the EU and other international partners, partners in civil society and the voluntary sector.
Notes
Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin launches Ireland’s Consular Strategy at the Global Ireland Summit.
Ambassador of Ireland to Spain, Frank Smyth, Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, Ambassador of Ireland to Kenya, Caitríona Ingoldsby at the launch of Ireland’s Consular Strategy at the Global Ireland Summit.
The update of the Consular Strategy of the Department of Foreign Affairs also includes an update of the Consular Assistance Charter 2023. Citizens seeking further information on the extent of the Consular remit of the department can consult the updated Consular Assistance Charter. The Charter explains in clear and accessible language how the department can and cannot assist citizens in difficulty or distress abroad.
The Department of Foreign Affairs’ TravelWise campaign sets out the department’s advice for citizens abroad. The key messages are; to consult our Travel Advice before travelling overseas; to take out comprehensive travel insurance; to check the validity of your passport; to know the location of the nearest Irish Embassy or Consulate abroad, and; to register on the department’s Citizens Registration platform during your time abroad.
Under the Global Ireland Strategy in 2018, the government launched a process to double Ireland’s global footprint by 2025. It set ambitious targets to open an additional 26 Irish Embassies and Consulates globally as well as deepen our footprint in many priority regions over a seven-year period. These new offices leverage the opportunities to grow our trade and inward investment, further strengthen political relationships with our partners and promote our values, play a more active role in supporting and promoting a rules-based international environment; and support Irish citizens and our diaspora abroad.
Under the Global Ireland commitments, we have opened 19 new missions to date. These include new Embassies in Wellington, Bogotá, Amman, Monrovia, Santiago de Chile, Kyiv, Manila, Rabat, Dakar and Tehran and new Consulates General in Vancouver, Mumbai, Cardiff, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Manchester, Lyon, Toronto and Miami.
In 2024 we will open a new Embassy in Islamabad and new Consulates General in Milan and Munich. Ireland has opened or announced 22 new Embassies or Consulates (19 new Missions opened - 10 Embassies, 9 Consulates; 3 new Missions announced Embassy Islamabad; Consulates – Munich and Milan) since the Global Ireland Strategy was launched in 2018. Each New Embassy or Consulate increases Ireland’s capacity to provide consular assistance to Irish citizens in difficulty or distress abroad.