Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to address the House on this important matter. I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for raising it. I agree with her that everyone has been moved by the terrible images and distressing reports of men, women and children drowning in the Mediterranean. We all agree that such terrible and appalling incidents should not be happening on the doorstep of the EU in the 21st century. The migration crisis is one of the greatest challenges ever to face the EU. It has been discussed at almost every European Council meeting in recent months. It will be on the agenda for the next Council meeting later this month. It has been addressed by foreign affairs and justice Ministers on many occasions. The EU has responded to the migration crisis by adopting a range of measures to deal with this global mass movement of people. As Deputy O'Sullivan has said, it has engaged with countries of origin and transit to address the root causes of migration, for example through tailor-made migration compacts. This has involved the agreement of a plan to relocate migrants from Italy and Greece across the EU. Operation Sophia has been launched with the intention of disrupting people-smuggling in the Mediterranean. Substantial financial assistance has been provided to Libya and other countries that are hosting large numbers of migrants.

The past year has seen the main focus shifting from Turkey and Greece to the so-called south Mediterranean route which, as the Deputy mentioned, is the route from Libya to Italy. So far this year, approximately 59,000 people have made the journey. Tragically, the International Organisation for Migration estimates that 1,480 people have drowned.

In March, European Union Heads of State and Government set out the European Union's commitment to assist Libya in the Malta Declaration. That commitment has quite a broad range of measures, including capacity building, training and the provision of equipment and support for the Libyan national coastguard and other agencies. It also seeks to ensure that there is adequate reception capacity in Libya for migrants, including by working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

In April, a €90 million programme was approved to step up the protection of migrants, as the Deputy has described, and to reinforce better migration management in Libya. Some €4.8 million of that is aimed at protection activities and €42 million is aimed at socio-economic development at municipal level and local governance. This programme will be implemented through a number of international agencies, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF. This is in addition to the €120 million already announced by the European Union for migration-related support for Libya to assist authorities and the population. The European Union will continue to closely monitor the migration situation in Libya to see what additional support is required. The reason for such targeted funding is an acceptance of the facts, as highlighted by the Deputy, that there was significant work and difficulty on the ground in Libya that needs to be addressed.

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