Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I hope my question did not suggest what the Minister said it did, namely, that there was a hidden agenda. That was not my intention in tabling the question, rather I was trying to find out what had been discussed. For instance, given that the Council meeting was held in Riga, was there a discussion of the Maltese navy and its call for help from the European Union in dealing with the continuing migrant problem on the Mediterranean? The UNHCR has stated that this year alone 3,500 migrants will die on the Mediterranean in trying to access the European Union. Was there a discussion of whether more could be done by way of an EU search and rescue effort? Ireland recently offered the decommissioned LE Aoifeto the Maltese. Could more be done by neutral states such as ours?

The Minister has said there is no question of having a standing army, but the Secretary General of NATO stated in his opening remarks, "During these challenging times ... NATO Allies spend more on defence, and spend better." Does the Minister agree with him and that it should be the other way around - that less should be spent in Europe on defence, given that more than €200 billion is spent by EU countries during a time of austerity?

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