It is scandalous that Irish citizens stuck in a war zone are being charged \u20ac800 by their own government so they can get home safely, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.<\/p>\n
Senator Stephenson said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s Scrooge-like response to this emergency has been shameful. After announcing that charter flights were being arranged from Oman for Irish people stranded in Gulf countries, it has now emerged that each seat on the plane will cost \u20ac800.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Minister McEntee\u2019s own press release, these passengers have been identified by the government as being the most urgent to evacuate because they are vulnerable. It is incredible, therefore, that the government has opted to treat them in this way.
\n
\n\u201cThis is an emergency situation and Irish people fleeing conflict should be assisted, not fleeced, at such a stressful and uncertain time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are costs involved, surely this is something that could be sorted out on a case-by-case basis once people are safely back home in Ireland. It is also worth noting that some of the passengers trying to get out of the region may have already had their commercial flights cancelled and haven\u2019t received refunds yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a shakedown, not an evacuation. Ability to pay should not be a prerequisite for safe exit from a war zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a clear case of the government giving with one hand and taking with the other. The minister must now agree to cover the costs of getting our citizens to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS
\nMarch 5, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is scandalous that Irish citizens stuck in a war zone are being charged \u20ac800 by their own government so they can get home safely, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. Senator Stephenson said: \u201cThe government\u2019s Scrooge-like response to this emergency has been shameful. After announcing that charter flights were being arranged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408,797,813,641,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foreign-affairs","category-iran","category-middle-east","category-patricia-stephenson","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n