Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The question is why. On a very practical point, why is Ireland's very small Navy needed in Operation Sophia when we consider the immense resources that are at the disposal of the navies of Italy, Spain, Britain, France, Germany and so on. The only conclusion to draw is that Europe is putting pressure on Ireland to be involved militarily. Therefore, the first point to be made is that this is a major threat to our neutrality.

It is claimed that Operation Sophia was responsible for the saving of 33,000 lives in a certain period. At the same time, the Irish Naval Service saved 15,000 lives. One Irish boat saved half the total number saved by those involved in Operation Sophia, so we cannot afford to diverge from our humanitarian work. It is that work which has brought us a considerable reputation in Europe and throughout the world. The House of Lords inquiry found Operation Sophia to be ineffective and that it is costing more lives than it is saving. The inquiry called for its mandate to be disbanded because that mandate has failed to disrupt people smuggling, yet we are considering joining the operation.

People smuggling starts on land, and that is where it must be tackled. Instead of Operation Sophia, our priority should be focusing on the causes of migration and the poverty, hunger, conflict and human rights abuses that cause people to flee. There should be a focus on the detention centres in Libya where there is malnutrition, rape, violence and enforced prostitution, all of which was graphically described to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence by representatives from Médecins sans Frontières. We must focus on facilitating stability in Libya, not encouraging the three competing governments with militias roaming a country in economic crisis. They are being entrusted to look after migrants. We must also focus on stopping the sale of weapons to regimes that are fuelling the instability in Africa which, in turn, is fuelling the migration. These are the pressing and urgent issues. We cannot sleepwalk into this discredited Operation Sophia. We are seeing a great deal of vested interest rather than human interest.

We should not vote on this motion now. I would prefer if we did not vote on it at all. At least it should be deferred until after the summer so we can get a better perspective on what is happening. There is no doubt that unscrupulous people who are smuggling migrants must be tackled, but Ireland promised to provide humanitarian assistance to save lives. That commitment should not be turned into a military operation, which is what is being proposed.

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