Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Operation ATALANTA is specifically about counteracting and preventing piracy and providing a significant deterrent for what had become a serious problem whereby ships, some of which were carrying World Food Programme aid, were under threat of being attacked and having their cargo robbed. It has been a successful mission. The numbers of acts of piracy in that part of the world have been significantly reduced as a result.

We could contribute probably in one of three ways. We could send a well-trained unit of approximately 20 personnel to be on World Food Programme cargo vessels, in effect as an armed guard at sea, we could send Air Corps personnel and an aircraft to improve the capacity in terms of surveillance in the area, or we could look at sending a fully crewed ship, for a period of three or four months, to participate in the work the fleet is doing there. We are weighing up all the options. I will certainly come back to the House if it will progress to a decision. There are different cost implications for different proposals and we are limited in terms of what we can afford to do at present.

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