Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will recap. Has the case of Ibrahim Halawa been raised? Like all other Deputies, I am concerned about where this case may lead and I would like the Government to use every avenue and means to raise the matter.

On refugees, the European Union describes Turkey as a country of safe origin. Does Ireland share this view on the status of Turkey? In this regard, I am particularly concerned about people from a Kurdish background.

The Tánaiste noted that more than 8,000 people were rescued by the Naval Service last year when it was on duty in the Mediterranean with the Italian navy. Has the Government received a formal request for further deployment of Naval Service vessels? When I raised this matter with the Minister for Defence, Deputy Coveney, he expressed his personal view that additional Irish Naval Service personnel should be deployed to the region. Would the Government consider positively any such request by the Italian or Greek navies? This is an urgent matter. Only last Saturday, for example, a boat transporting refugees sank off the coast of Turkey, resulting in the death of a four-month old child.

Between 12,000 and 15,000 people have been stuck in squalor at Idomeni on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia since the border was shut three weeks ago. Is the Government doing anything to help the people in question? Normally, some type of announcement would be made on matters of this nature. Is any such announcement pending?

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