A record number of consular assistance cases were dealt with by the Department of Foreign Affairs last year.
Figures released by the Department show that cases increased for the fourth year running, with 1,981 recorded in 2025.
Support includes cases involving missing persons, serious injuries, arrests, victims of crime, mental health issues and deaths abroad.
The highest number of deaths of Irish citizens overseas was also reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last year.
More than one-in-five of all new consular cases in 2025 related to the death of an Irish citizen abroad.
There was a significant increase in prisoner cases, up 48%, while the number of Irish citizens presenting with issues relating to their mental health and wellbeing rose by 13%.
The figures do not include the ongoing response to assist Irish citizens caught up in a series of crises in the Middle East.
In a statement, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee said a small number of Irish citizens and dependents remain in Gaza and that her Department is continuing to advocate on behalf of those who have not yet been able to leave.
The Department also continued to support a number of citizens to depart from Iran and Israel.
She said that in 2025, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade responded to several global crises including those provoked by conflict, political instability and extreme weather events.
"I want to pay tribute to the hardworking staff in our embassies and consulates around the world who, alongside the team based in the Department's headquarters in Dublin, provide round-the-clock assistance to our citizens.
"This important work also includes authenticating 59,000 Irish documents for business or personal use overseas, and the issuance of more than 2,400 civil letters of freedom to enable Irish citizens to marry abroad," said Ms McEntee.
In 2024, the DFA provided consular assistance to 1,858 new cases.
