Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland's neutrality will not be conflicted but we need to invest more in conflict resolution with other member states. The EU global strategy sets out a vision for the EU foreign and security policy and commits the European Union to promoting peace, prosperity, democracy and the rule of law. We need to play our part in that. The Deputy referred to statements regarding Turkey, but this is a political agreement. There need to be engagements with other countries to get to the core of why these people are fleeing in the first place. If they are fleeing from persecution, we need to be able to work with other member states to get to the core of what is happening. If we do not have any engagement, we will not be able to do that. There is an agreement to ensure people do not lose their lives and, while thousands of people have lost their lives, we must remember that 11 vessels from Ireland have already saved more than 16,800 people. A great deal is happening, but a significant amount of work needs to be done to get to the core issues. A significant amount of support needs to be put in place and lines of communication need to be open.

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