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

Deputy Daly and I have a fundamentally different view of the role the United States plays in the world. I do not say mistakes have not been made, but I do not see every conflict and every cause of mass migration in places such as North Africa being caused by the United States. Some conflicts and some broken states are now trying to recover from wars in which the United States and many other countries have been involved, but that is not the same thing as to suggest that they were caused by the United States.

It is also not true to say that we are not thinking about, debating and talking about what the European Union can do in the medium term to try to address the causes of mass migration in places such as North Africa, across multiple states. We have Defence Forces personnel in some of the countries concerned who are trying to assist in providing stability and peace. In Mali, for example, I visited a training mission around St. Patrick's Day. Let us not simplify the situation. This is a hugely complex problem. This country is interested in longer term solutions and investment in trying to bring stability to states where there are currently significant migration problems because of fear of regimes and persecution, among other reasons. Multiple solutions are required. One of them is search and rescue, and we are actively part of that approach but we are also part of the broader debate as well.

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