New figures show Irish diplomats across the world provided assistance to almost 1,650 Irish citizens in the last 12 months.

It covers issue like serious consular emergencies, including deaths, arrests, accidents, child abductions and hospitalisations.

The statistics from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, reveal that while consular assistance was provided to Irish citizens right across the world, the highest number of cases occurred in Spain, followed by Australia, USA, Canada, Britain, France.

The report also shows services provided by the Department included the authentication of over 60,000 Irish documents like educational certificates, legal and company documents.

More than 3,000 Certificat de Coutume - or civil letters of freedom - were issued to Irish citizens getting married or entering civil partnerships abroad, the Department says.

The families of 217 people who died abroad received consular assistance.

The Department registered more than 5,500 people for Irish citizenship through Foreign Births Registration with the majority of these applications received in the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Commenting on the 2014 figures, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said "our staff are deeply committed to assisting Irish citizens in difficulty and to helping Irish families at home dealing with distressing situations abroad. Ireland’s diplomats stand ready to respond quickly and effectively to urgent cases and emergency situations worldwide.

Minister Flanagan also advised that "by taking out suitable travel insurance before travelling, our citizens can ensure they are in the best position possible to help themselves in the unfortunate situation that something does go wrong abroad.”

Originally posted at 11.52am