Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Cronin.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Libya arising from an horrific civil war demands an international humanitarian response. It is welcome that since the ceasefire of October 2020, there has been a reduction in the number of internally displaced persons, of 58% between the date of that agreement and August of last year. Events in Sudan over the past ten days, as well as our own experiences reflected this week as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, underscore the fragility of peace processes and the absolute need to foster and protect such frameworks for peace.

In the context of Libya, a current UN Security Council resolution provides the basis for a mission to prevent further arms from entering that field. Sinn Féin is both a firm supporter of Irish neutrality and proud of the record of our Defence Forces personnel on EU missions. The proposal to deploy an Irish naval vessel to the Mediterranean in support of the goal of preventing further arms from being landed in Libya, with a view to disrupting human trafficking networks, is worthy of consideration but, unfortunately, there is little scope for consideration in this House. The Government has allocated just 55 minutes for this debate, and the proposal was not referred to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence for discussion.

In principle, Sinn Féin supports this deployment, operating, as it will, under a clear UN mandate. We believe it is in line with the objectives of securing the existing framework for peace in Libya. The commitments of the proposed deployment are limited to the seas and do not involve participation in the elements of the mission relating to the training of the Libyan Coast Guard. This is important, particularly when compared with the predecessor to Operation Irini, Operation Sophia, which proceeded for a period without UN sanction. The concerns that Sinn Féin raised about that operation have been vindicated. Those in the Libyan Coast Guard have been described as gangsters and warlords masquerading as a coastguard. That seems an apt description, given the substantiated human rights abuses that have emerged. Ireland must not under any circumstances have any hand in training those who are involved in such human rights abuses. Médecins Sans Frontières has expressed concerns in this regard and has called on the Government to refuse to participate in such naval training. That organisation points to the German Government, which has stated that it, "cannot currently justify the training of the Libyan coast guard by German soldiers in view of the repeated unacceptable behavior by individual units of the Libyan coast guard toward refugees and migrants". Such training is currently suspended, as I understand it, due to the political fragmentation in Libya but, as recently as March, an EU Commission spokesperson spoke of the resumption of such training whenever the Libyan side was ready. The Irish Government must give an undertaking that there will be no such participation by members of the Irish Defence Forces in such exercises, and should be pressuring the EU to abandon any intentions in this regard.

In terms of the domestic impact of participation, there are important questions for the Government to answer. Last January, two of our six patrol vessels were placed in operational reserve. At least 12 naval patrols were cancelled in each of January and February. The Tánaiste's assertion that there will be either one or two vessels available for domestic duties is a scandalous indictment of successive Governments in the context of the Naval Service. It would be hard for the Government to argue that it is prioritising the monitoring of illegal fishing, drug smuggling and the other activities for which we depend on the Naval Service.

Eyebrows will rightfully be raised within the Defence Forces regarding the Government's suggestion that this deployment will assist in addressing the ongoing retention and recruitment crisis. To propose that this crisis can be addressed through deployment, that we would send personnel to conflict zones in order to ease the pressure on the Government to improve the working conditions of personnel at home is worrying. If the Tánaiste wants to resolve the retention and recruitment crisis, he should implement the organisation of working time directive.

The Naval Service's fleet of vessels has been systematically reduced by successive Governments. It is now comparable in size with what was in place in the 1970s. Personnel numbers are well below the established figure. It is ironic that the parties of Government, having overseen the decimation of the Defence Forces, now seek to embed them in military alliances by means of the deliberate undermining of Irish neutrality. Let me state categorically that Sinn Féin wants to see increased investment in the Defence Forces in terms of the number of personnel and their working conditions and through the acquisition of the necessary equipment. We do so because we want to defend our military neutrality. We also want the Defence Forces to continue to play a positive and constructive role in peacekeeping across the globe.

While wishing our personnel who participate in this mission well, we will continue to monitor the situation in order to ensure that the commitments given by the Tánaiste today are honoured. In my view, there is a role for the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in this regard. I will be asking the committee to take on that role.

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