Departments scramble to change St Patrick's Day plans to avoid travelling over Middle East

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Tuesday that the Irish Government will charter flights, with up to 280 people expected to be offered seats on a plane in the coming days. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Government departments are scrambling to change ministers' travel plans for St Patrick’s Day amid concerns about flying over or through the Middle East.

Several ministers have had their flights changed, cancelled, rebooked, and rerouted in recent hours amid uncertainty about whether it will be possible to travel through international transit hubs, such as Dubai, or through Emirati airspace.

Approximately 2,000 Irish citizens have been caught in transit in the Middle East in recent days following a shutdown of airports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha as Iran continues to hit back at US-Israeli strikes.

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Tuesday that the Irish Government will charter flights, with up to 280 people expected to be offered seats on a plane in the coming days.

However, as efforts are underway to get Irish citizens out of the region, the Irish Government is now also making plans to prevent ministers from travelling to or through the region.

Minister of State Niall Collins was due to travel to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April following Ramadan.

On Limerick's Live 95 FM, Mr Collins said it “looks like it probably won’t happen at this point in time”.

He will now travel to Chile and Argentina next week, following education minister Hildegarde Naughton’s decision not to travel as “significant consultation is required to advance a number of important policy measures, including the SNA workforce plan and redeployment circular”.

Extended journeys

Both higher education minister James Lawless and OPW junior minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran will travel to Australia for St Patrick’s Day. However, there has been significant work underway to reschedule both men’s flights in recent days.

Mr Moran is understood to have several flights added to his itinerary.

Mr Lawless, meanwhile, was expected to travel through Dubai but is now expected to travel through France and Singapore. It is also understood that he will travel back to Ireland via the United States.

Junior sports minister Charlie McConalogue’s flights to Thailand and Vietnam have also been changed. While his return flights are unaffected, it is understood that his flights over have been changed at “minimal cost”.

Cork junior minister Jerry Buttimer’s flights to China are unaffected, as it is not expected to pass over Middle Eastern airspace.

Neale Richmond, who is minister of State for international development and diaspora, is scheduled to travel to Jordan at the end of March.

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson confirmed that a decision "will be taken closer to the time".

The Department of Foreign Affairs, however, did not answer queries about changes to St Patrick’s Day programmes for other ministers.

The Irish Examiner understands the costs of changing some flights have resulted in some people, including senior civil servants, being dropped from trips, as it would be too expensive to reorganise flights for entire delegations.

A spokesman for Micheál Martin confirmed the Taoiseach will still travel to the United States in the coming fortnight for a programme of events that includes a meeting with Donald Trump in the White House.

When asked if the Taoiseach intends to raise the situation in Iran with Mr Trump during their Oval Office bilateral, his spokesman said the situation is evolving and that a decision would be taken closer to the time about the topics of conversation.

In the Dáil, Mr Martin insisted that the relationship with the US must be maintained.

“St. Patrick's Day will come and go,” he said. “It is the more enduring sustainable relationship between the US and Ireland that is important, but park that for a moment."

• Louise Burne is Political Correspondent.