Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not in a position to state the exact number of Irish citizens in Libya, but I assure the Deputy that through our embassy in Rome which is accredited to Libya we are providing advice for anybody who is considering travelling to Libya and that we will monitor and offer support to Irish citizens who are in the country or the region.

With regard to the response to the grave difficulty in Libya, much of it is being co-ordinated through the European Union. On the first level, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, who co-ordinates and leads much of the European Union's foreign policy in these areas has appointed a new special envoy to Libya, Bernardino León, whose role will be to co-ordinate the work of the European Union in that area and offer any support possible, with a particular focus on what can be done in the area of public administration and governance.

The second area of work by the European Union involves what is described as the European Union Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya which was established in May 2013. Its role is to support and develop the capacity and ability of the Libyan authorities to monitor their borders and make them secure and in the long term to develop broader policy and concepts in that regard. The mission has a temporary location in Malta and will put in place a secure compound and facility within Libya to deal with work in that area.

See this speech in context