Foreign affairs minister Dermot Ahern attributes the high number of fatalities to the fact that the number of Irish travelling or living abroad has soared over the past decade.

The department's consular services are busier than ever as a result of the deaths, which happened by accident, natural causes and, in some cases, murder.

Ahern pointed out that Irish people made nearly seven million visits abroad last year to a wider range of locations than ever.

"As a result, the need for consular assistance and support continues to increase.

The vast majority of these visits are trouble-free, but unfortunately, some result in death or serious injury, " he said.

"The number of fatalities varies from year to year, and to date in 2007, assistance has been sought from the department in over 100 such cases.

In many of these cases, deaths have occurred in very traumatic and difficult situations."

The department does not compile data on how Irish people died because the circumstances surrounding deaths "are often in dispute", but several people have died violently abroad in recent years.

Last August, 18-year-old Dublin man Derek Cumiskey died in an attack at the Lanzarote holiday resort of Puerto del Carmen. He was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a group of men outside a restaurant in the early hours of the morning after a night out.

Staff from the Irish embassy in Madrid and the honorary consulate in Lanzarote helped the Cumiskey family liaise with local police and arranged for his remains to be returned home. Ahern said the help and assistance of his staff was always welcomed.

"I am very pleased to report that, in the overwhelming number of cases, citizens indicate they are extremely appreciative of the quality of the support and advice they receive from the department and our missions overseas in these, often tragic, circumstances, " he said.