Pandemic curtails Irish arrests and jail time abroad

In 2019, 39 Irish citizens were jailed abroad, as compared to 22 in 2020 and just 20 last year. The pandemic accounts for the difference.

Over the last three years, the Department of Foreign Affairs has been notified of 480 Irish citizens arrested abroad. 81 were sent to jail, mostly in other European countries, according to records released under Freedom of Information.

The department said that not every Irish person who was arrested or imprisoned sought their assistance and there might be cases of which they were not aware.