Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fail will be supporting this motion. I acknowledge that the motion is coming to the House on the advice and recommendation of the Defence Forces and is fully supported by them. Operation Sophia is part of a wider EU response to the migration crisis and we fully support that.

It is worth remembering that Ireland only operates in UN-mandated missions and Operation Sophia is UN mandated by two UN Security Council resolutions. We have a triple lock system in place in this country, which we value, with good reason. Getting the approval of this House is the last step in the process. The triple lock is a testament to our properly functioning democracy.

We know that currently the Naval Service is participating in a bilateral arrangement facilitated by the Italian authorities named Operation Pontus, which is a search and rescue operation. To date, the Irish Naval Service has rescued some 17,000 migrants in the Mediterranean, for which I thank them. It is work which the Irish people are immensely proud of.

While Operation Sophia does not have a specific search and rescue role as part of its mandate, such a role is a mandatory requirement on naval vessels deployed in the region under the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea so we can be assured that this important work will still continue.

Our Naval Service will be actively involved in disrupting the people smuggling and trafficking operations of criminal gangs in the Mediterranean, and will contribute to the implementation of the UN arms embargo. It will identify, capture and dispose of vessels being used to smuggle and traffic people. The key to the operation is to disrupt the activities of smugglers and traffickers in order to save lives. A priority for our Naval Service will be ultimately to reduce the suffering and exploitation of migrants by countering and challenging the criminal organisations engaged in such activities.

Our Naval Service has done a fantastic job in its search and rescue efforts to date but we have to address the reason people need rescuing in the first place. If we can help to disrupt smugglers and stop these criminals in their tracks, we must do so. We cannot just accept that smuggling and trafficking is taking place and just pick up the bodies in the wreckage left behind. We must work with our European neighbours and stop this happening.

The question is being asked as to what the benefits are to Ireland in participating in this mission. What are the benefits to our Defence Forces, in particular our Naval Service? In my view, this is not about how this benefits us, rather it is about responding to an international migration crisis that we have an obligation to address. We are part of an international community and this is not a problem we can shake off and suggest other countries take up the work. We will be working closely with 25 other EU member states, several of which are neutral like ourselves, and fulfilling our duty as members of the European Union.

There are also practical reasons for joining Operation Sophia if we wish to continue our work in the Mediterranean. First, we do not want to be operating in the Mediterranean on a solo mission. Integrated efforts with our EU neighbours is the only way to participate effectively. In practical terms, participation in larger integrated search missions rather than on an isolated basis would allow refuelling and resupply at sea, as well as integration with air support such as medevac, offering greater protection to our troops. I also note that the non-political Irish Maritime Forum, which is represented by professionals with a wide range of experience in the maritime domain, has written to the Departments of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Taoiseach saying it is time the Naval Service switched to operating under EUNAVFOR MED. Irish Maritime Forum spokesman James Robinson, a former senior Naval Service officer, said that in the wake of Brexit, Ireland needs to strengthen her ties with the remaining EU member states and I agree. Mr. Robinson said that joining Operation Sophia would demonstrate Ireland’s commitment to European co-operation to the nations whose understanding and assistance we will need when Brexit negotiations get under way in earnest. He also said that Ireland is notable by her absence and this absence misses an important opportunity to garner diplomatic credits from the other 25 contributing EU member states as opposed to Italy alone. It is my understanding that the Italians want the criminal human trafficking addressed at source and do not wish to be simply a drop-off destination, especially in the absence of EU burden sharing. I can fully understand their frustration; they are doing more than their fair share in responding to this crisis.

A criticism of Operation Sophia - I am referring specifically to the House of Lords report issued yesterday - is that not enough has been done on tackling criminal human trafficking, and that what has been done to date, namely, impounding 452 larger vessels and seeing 110 traffickers imprisoned, has diverted traffic to smaller, more vulnerable craft with consequent increased risk of deaths at sea. It is interesting that while the House of Lords report says that Operation Sophia has failed to meet the objective of its mandate to disrupt the business model of people smuggling, it has been a humanitarian success. It Is also worth noting that the House of Lords report cannot be viewed outside internal UK Brexit politics.

Irish interests in Operation Sophia include that it will provide better security for Irish naval operations in the Mediterranean. It will give greater humanitarian task effectiveness. It will allow for improved training and experience for our Naval Service in what would be their first multinational security operation, thereby increasing scope for future deployments. It would be a more cost effective engagement for the Irish taxpayer, assuming that there would be better supports within Operation Sophia than are possible in a unilateral mission. With Brexit, Ireland has a visible and direct interest in demonstrating greater EU solidarity. This is a high-profile Irish contribution. We would be committing a seventh vessel to the current complement of six. Ireland would be actively fulfilling two UN Security Council resolutions to which we are not currently contributing at all.

I have been contacted by a number of NGOs and advocacy groups who have raised what I consider to be very genuine concerns in respect of Operation Sophia and our proposed participation. I note in particular correspondence received from Amnesty International, Oxfam, the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Refugee Council. I assure those groups that I have heard what they have said and have considered the points raised against our participation. The decision to support the motion was not taken lightly and I genuinely believe it to be the right decision, having considered all arguments and information available to me. The argument has been made that we should continue in a search and rescue role only and that this is the best use of Irish resources to save lives. My view, however, is that we must address the problem at source and, as I said earlier, there is a reason people need to be rescued. This is the problem we need to solve. Granted, the best outcome would be to solve the issue as to why people are leaving their country in the first instance but we need to do all we can to stop smugglers and traffickers who are buying and selling human beings, torturing them and profiting from their misery. This has to be stopped.

A solely humanitarian role in my view is not sustainable in the short to medium term, particularly in light of the Italian position. In the absence of efforts to tackle criminal human trafficking, the humanitarian crisis can only grow and worsen. We cannot forget that this trafficking also entails forced labour and prostitution. How can we stand by and allow this continue and do nothing? Ireland’s humanitarian efforts are strengthened and better secured within a multilateral mission. We do better with a collective force and we will continue in our rescue role as mandated by the UN Law of the Sea. It is not a case of either-or humanitarian versus security operations - we have to do both. In respect of allegations of a possible mission creep, there will be no mission creep to phase 2 or 3 as this requires, for the EU and not just Ireland, a UN Security Council resolution and agreement with Libyan authorities and, on our side, agreement at EU Council level. There are checks and balances in place and I am satisfied with them.

It is impossible to judge how much worse the migrant flows would have been, and the scale of additional deaths, in the absence of Operation Sophia. We cannot know this so I do not accept suggestions that the operation has made matters worse. Operation Sophia has directly saved nearly 34,000 lives since its commencement - more than the number rescued by NGOs themselves, which is about 30,000. I very much commend the work of NGOs in this area. Irish engagement will reinforce the humanitarian side of the EU’s mission with substantial field experience, and potentially rebalance it.

I fully trust our Defence Forces and Naval Service in their judgment that we should participate in this mission. I fully appreciate that they have given this great consideration and do not think they took the decision lightly to advise participation in the mission. It is, and has always been, their key objective to protect and save lives while they operate in the Mediterranean. I have full confidence that in participating in this new mission with our European colleagues, the Irish Naval Service will play a vital role in addressing the migration crisis and aiding in the UN humanitarian effort to save lives. This is ultimately what the operation is about. It is naive to think that we can simply engage in a search and rescue operation on the outskirts of Operation Sophia while looking in at our other European colleagues as they do the work in which we should be participating. It is not okay to simply accept that trafficking and smuggling of human beings will just continue on the basis that if we try to get involved, we could make matters worse. We have to try to stop this. It is simply not okay to go around afterwards and clean up the mess they have left. When we consider that 25 other EU member states are currently participating, I see no reason that we should not participate also. We are part of the European and the international community. This is a migration crisis to which we must fully respond as best we can. In that light, I am pleased to pledge Fianna Fáil support for the motion.

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