Dr. Conor Kenny:

I thank the committee members for outlining the clear urgency that this issue needs to be given. I thank everyone for outlining that this is clearly a complex situation as well. I know the committee members appreciate that.

We were asked about solutions. Médecins sans Frontières is a humanitarian organisation. We are in the water to save lives. That is our agenda. The solution from an Irish Government point of view is to continue. The Government has a humanitarian mission there with the Naval Service and it should continue to save lives. A European dedicated search and rescue response in the area is crucial to stop people dying.

The importance of safe and legal channels is vital, as Mr. Taylor has outlined. Many people are entitled to asylum but they have to get on these flimsy boats to claim asylum. Putting them in that situation is reckless. Is there a possible alternative or more creative way by which these people do not have to fuel the smuggling industry in Libya? Is there some way they can go through appropriate channels to seek asylum in the appropriate fashion?

I will come back to what I see in the medical clinics. I do not have the exact number of the average ages but I figure it is around 24 years plus or minus three years. We were asked where they are from. It really depends. We have seen various trends. Last year, Eritrea would have been one of the countries with the highest numbers. Now, we probably see more west Africans, for example, people from northern Nigeria, Gambia, Senegal and the Ivory Coast. We also see a large number of people from south-east Asia, such as Bangladesh. There is a real mixture of people. Many of them are fleeing poverty and many are fleeing violence as well.

There was a question about what is being charged to get on these boats. I can only go on what we hear in the medical clinics and the conversations we have. People suggest €250, €500 or €1,000 depending on the smuggler and the quality of the boat or even where the person getting on the boat is from. Again, this is very much hearsay.