Mr. Sam Taylor:

Dr. Kenny addressed most of the questions. We were asked who is providing the services. It is a mixture of NGOs and different navies, including the Naval Service, contributing services there.

I will repeat what can be done. We do not have the solution. Although Médecins sans Frontières has been active in this area for several years, we do not have the solution. We ask ourselves what we would recommend. The simplest and clearest message we can transmit is that there have to be alternative channels. There have to be safe and legal channels for this process to happen. As we have mentioned, the NGOs are not a pull factor. People would continue to come even if the NGOs were not there and more people would die. No one takes these risks unaware of what they are, whether they are from Egypt, Syria or Sudan. People talk to each other through social media. People know there is a high risk of dying but they are prepared to take it until or unless there are safer and legal channels.

We have mentioned the European Union. Ireland can do more in raising these issues at European level. Ireland has leading positions in some of the bodies in Europe. As a nation that has a deep and admirable humanitarian history, it behoves Ireland to raise these issues in whatever fora are available, as my colleague, Mr. Dunne, said. All we can do is tell committee members what we are seeing. All Médecins sans Frontières can do is explain what it is our people there are seeing on the ground. It is the responsibility of policymakers to turn that into policy. Of course, ending the war in Syria would be great and stabilising Somalia would be fantastic. However, it is not within our remit to do this. These are political issues. The part of Médecins sans Frontières is to save lives. As Dr. Kenny said, we are a sticking plaster on a sucking chest wound. We will continue to do that work because we believe it is our humanitarian imperative to do so. Solutions are with politicians.