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

It is a mad world when there seems to be always enough wealth and money for war but never enough resources for peace. If we curtailed military expenditure and stopped boosting the arms industry, the type of programme necessary to alleviate this humanitarian crisis could be delivered. We need something akin to the Marshall Plan delivered after the Second World War, if not more. The reality is that we have a crisis the likes of which has not been seen since those times. I am delighted we provided the naval ships and very happy with the role they played. I am sorry they did not bring those people to Ireland sooner than now, given the role we played in rescuing them. I am happy for us to take in any number of refugees here. As Deputy Wallace said, we are culpable in this humanitarian disaster.

In the limited time we have, it is more beneficial to deal with the reason for this crisis. Like it or not, from the times of the colonial eras, Europeans sailed around the world, pillaging and conquering, and then came home to enjoy the spoils. When those whose lives have been destroyed seek a better life and have to leave their countries, barriers are imposed . The lucky ones are those who we have seen washed up on beaches or herded into trains in Hungary.

The people who end up in Europe are a tiny fraction of Europe's population and a tiny fraction of the refugee crisis worldwide. Almost 60 million have been displaced. If they were a nation, they would be the 24th largest country in the world. Where do these people go? They go to the misnamed developing countries. The poorest countries take 86% of the world's refugees. The poorest of the poor give asylum to 25% of the world's refugees. In relative terms, very small numbers of people end up on Europe's doorstep, yet we call it a European crisis. It is a migrant crisis which Europe has played a part in sponsoring, not least through our facilitation of the US military machine.

The countries from which the majority of these refugees come are countries which the West has gone into and destabilised. Of these countries - Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen - some of them were poor countries and some of them are now utterly decimated. Through the destruction of Libya, we see the growth of ISIS. Colonel Gaddafi was traditionally one of the EU's favourite border policemen, given the deal with former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi to keep refugees out of Europe. Everyone was happy as we did not have to see them. Now with the disintegration of Libya, the issue is very much on Europe's doorstep. We have to deal with issues such as the US bolstering and facilitation of the Saudi regimes. Last year weapons were transferred through this country on their way to Saudi Arabia. We had a proud record of championing against cluster bombs. Are we going to find out that some of those cluster bombs which recently ended up killing children in Yemen passed through Shannon? There is a good chance of it. According to reports published this year, the US is now the world's top exporter of munitions. Many of those munitions have been used against civilians. Last year, 200 tonnes of weaponry passed through Shannon on the way to Afghanistan.

It is inevitable that some of this ended up in the hands of the Taliban and ISIS, as occurred in Iraq. That came through Shannon. This is a critical issue for us. We are complicit in this. Last year, there were 600 permissions for military aircraft, with 55,000 troops transiting through Shannon. Most of them were on their way to the Middle East. We have heard the words of the Americans, who thank Ireland for its steadfast support in permitting US military transits which back-stop US actions in the gulf region. In other words, we are responsible too.

I do not like some of the media coverage that has occurred and some of the spin whingeing about the so-called cost and problem of refugees and migrants. Yes, it is a big problem, but we are partly responsible for creating it. While we must respond in humanitarian terms, the best thing we could do is to stop making them refugees in the first place and stop facilitating the biggest war machine on this planet on a twice daily basis by landing military aircraft and transiting thousands of troops. It is not good enough and is hypocrisy supreme.

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