Euro 2016: Emergency number for Irish fans revealed

The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued an emergency number for Irish fans attending Euro 2016 in France.

The number is +33144176780 and has gone live.

It will be available for as long as the Republic remains in the soccer championships.

The Department of Foreign Affairs will have temporary consulates in Bordeaux and Lille for the duration of the tournament.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has advised Irish fans to carry some form of photographic identification with them at all times while in France, as they may be asked for an ID card.

He reiterated his advice to Irish fans to be vigilant and exercise a degree of caution, especially around the fan zones and the stadiums.

Eight gardaí will be in France to assist the estimated 70,000 Irish fans who are travelling to the championships.

“National security issues are issues for the French authorities. My advice is for fans to take local advice,” Mr Flanagan said.

He advised fans to allow themselves sufficient time to get to the matches because there will be searches and queues beforehand.

France is on its highest state of alert following the terrorist attacks in November last year.

More than 90,000 security personnel will be on duty for the championships.

“I hope people have a good time, but it is set in the context of there being a high alert,” Mr Flanagan said.

New app

This travel advice is contained on a new Department of Foreign Affairs app, which is being launched to coincide with the tournament.

TravelWise contains travel information for Irish tourists on every country in the world.

Mr Flanagan said the app is using cutting edge technology to provide the most up-to-date travel advice for Irish tourists.

The app is available on all Android and Apple devices.

Each country comes with a travel advisory and a colour code. There is a four-tier system for these codes.

Countries shaded green are safe to visit, while visitors to those shaded yellow should exercise a high degree of caution.

Tourists are advised to avoid non-essential travel to countries shaded orange, while those in red are countries to which it is not advisable to travel.

The red alert countries are Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Users can set customised alerts to receive the department’s latest security updates for where they are going.

Anyone needing consular assistance abroad will have instant access to the department’s global network of 80 embassies and consulates, and its 90-plus honorary consulates, through the app.