Travellers abroad urged to take insurance

FOREIGN affairs minister Dermot Ahern has urged anyone travelling abroad during the year to take out comprehensive insurance before they leave.

Giving advice to Irish citizens planning foreign trips in 2007, Mr Ahern said that while most who travel abroad do so without serious difficulty, he was aware of some holidays which have been ruined “and families suffering terrible tragedy and trauma”.

These situations, he added, can be greatly exacerbated if citizens travel abroad without adequate insurance and, as a result, incur large medical and repatriation expenses.