Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad that the Minister of State stated so authoritatively that this is a military mission because it directly contradicts statements made in the House by the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, with whom we will certainly be taking up the matter further. We have already started a process in that regard. The numbers of migrants drowning have decreased, but the numbers of desperate refugees being detained in Libya, sadly, have not. A Médecins sans Frontières doctor has described what it is like for migrants from Libya, stating those who make it are detained arbitrarily. He continued:

Many are held for months without adequate sanitation or food. Torture and rape become a part of daily life. Scabies eats at their skin. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis spread easily.

That is where we send them back and they are intercepted by the Libyan coast guard, a coast guard we have trained and equipped to hold them in these positions. It is not humanitarian and not helpful. It is an absolutely appalling violation of human rights and not something in which the people would want the Defence Forces to be involved.

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