Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad that the Minister has stated clearly that our naval forces are not involved in Operation Triton. The reality is that they are operating side by side with that exercise, which is run under Frontex and the EU border control agency. We must consider that the humanitarian mission run by the Italians since 2013 under Operation Mare Nostrum, which they were pressurised by the EU to cease, succeeded in rescuing almost 150,000 people before it was replaced by Operation Triton, which is primarily an exercise in border control. While I appreciate the Minister's assurance that our forces are not involved in the new operation and are engaged in a purely humanitarian mission, that needs to be examined further. Are the people who are taken on board the LE Eithnenot on Irish sovereign soil? Should they not be covered by the 1951 refugee convention? Should we not have an obligation to land them in Malta or Italy for a short period of time before bringing them back to Ireland, where we could consider a resettlement programme? It is a bit of a half-measure to have one without the other.

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