An East Galway TD is urging Galway people making travel plans for this year to ensure they have comprehensive travel insurance.
Minister for the Diaspora and International Development Ciaran Cannon has said that while most journeys pass off without incident, statistics from 2019 show the good sense behind being prepared, with over 1,700 Irish citizens caught up in major incidents overseas.
“It is important for Irish citizens to know that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade offers a wide variety of services to support them when travelling abroad and thousands of people already avail of our free smartphone app, TravelWise, which gives immediate access to our travel advice and contact information for every Irish Embassy and Consulate”.
“The value of this and of our constantly updated travel advice at www.dfa.ie/travel/travel-advice/ provides vital preventative outreach information to citizens, encouraging them to adopt safe travel practices”.
“While most journeys overseas pass off without incident, statistics from 2019 show the good sense behind being prepared and last year, the Department and our mission network supported over 1,700 Irish citizens caught up in major incidents overseas”.
“The staff in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Consular office in Dublin, in our 80 embassies and consulates-general, and in our 94 Honorary Consults around the world supported citizens in a wide variety of situations, including natural disasters, arrests, imprisonments, missing persons, serious injury and mental illness”.
Minister Cannon added “As people from Galway begin to reflect on potential travel plans for the year ahead, I urge them to get comprehensive travel insurance. Anyone travelling to Europe should also carry the ‘EHIC’ European Health Insurance Card, while those going to higher-risk countries should register their travel details with us online”.
