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

The Deputy has put a lot of questions and made a number of comments. I have dealt with most of them in previous questions. I said that most people would accept it was a mistake to reduce the resource level in terms of search and rescue and in terms of the assistance we give to migrants in the Mediterranean. The tragic drownings which happened in the past six weeks or so shocked many people. As a result, Ireland and other countries have dramatically increased resources which we are now applying to provide partial solutions to the problem, focusing at the moment on search and rescue and humanitarian assistance. That is a good thing. Rather than focusing on mistakes made in the past, we should focus on trying to solve the problems. Ireland wants to contribute to that effort and we are doing an excellent search and rescue job at the moment. We will contribute to the broader debate on how Europe, collectively, can help to address the reasons for mass migrations from Libya and north Africa.

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