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Tanaiste Simon Harris said ministers were monitoring the situation in the Middle East (PA)<\/p>\nThe Government is to charter a flight to assist its citizens in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
It comes after several days of escalating tensions and attacks between Iran, Israel and the United States, which has spread to neighbouring nations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The missiles have also caused major disruption to flights in the region.<\/p>\n
The government has estimated that between 22,000 and 23,000 Irish citizens are in the area, and a \u201crelatively low number\u201d have already left.<\/p>\n
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee, said she hopes the flight from Oman will be the \u201cfirst of many\u201d.<\/p>\n
I am highly aware of the large numbers of Irish citizens in the UAE as the current conflict continues<\/p>\n
Helen McEntee<\/p>\n
She told RT\u00c9 that the government will be contacting Irish citizens in the Middle East on Wednesday to travel home on a charter flight for around 280 people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first and the quickest and the best option is still for commercial airlines to bring people home, particularly given so much of our population is in the UAE, is in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and we\u2019ve seen over the last few days a number of flights that have been taking off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all of them to the west, many of them are heading east, but on those flights we have Irish people, and we\u2019re engaging directly with those airlines to see if we can we in the coming days, ensure that some of those direct flights are coming to Dublin.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, Ms McEntee said the first flight will be targeted at Irish citizens currently in the UAE, particularly those who are non-resident and who are vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am highly aware of the large numbers of Irish citizens in the UAE as the current conflict continues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this context, I asked our consular crisis team today to activate plans for an assisted departure.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team will now take the necessary steps to finalise a first government of Ireland charter flight for Irish citizens to depart the region from Oman airport in the coming days, provided security and operational considerations permit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis first charter flight will be targeted at Irish citizens currently in the UAE, particularly those who are non-resident, and who are vulnerable and require assistance most urgently.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThose citizens requiring the most assistance will be contacted directly by my department in the coming days.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would ask for everyone\u2019s patience as our most vulnerable citizens are contacted in this first phase of our response to this crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to offer consular assistance to all citizens in the region. All citizens should register with the appropriate embassy if they have not already done so and continue to follow our embassy social media accounts for the latest updates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanaiste Simon Harris said ministers were monitoring the situation in the Middle East (PA)<\/p>\n
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