The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing assistance to a group of Irish women who were assaulted during an armed robbery in Portugal.
The women were involved in an incident in the southern Algarve region of the country in the early hours of yesterday morning.
They were among a group of seven women having a party by the swimming pool in a villa near the popular holiday resort of Albufeira when two men carrying handguns burst in and threatened them. The raiders escaped with cash, jewellery, credit cards and computer equipment.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
A spokesman for the department said staff from the Irish embassy in Lisbon were providing support to the women.
The department is providing consular assistance to their families.