Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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108. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will report on the work done by the LE Eithne and its crew, since the ship was deployed to the Mediterranean; his plans to expand the role that the LE Eithne is fulfilling in the region, especially in relation to the recently agreed European Union naval force operation in the Mediterranean. [21693/15]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Yesterday, the Irish Naval ship, the LE Eithne, left hundreds of refugees in an Italian port. I want to record the appreciation of the Irish people for the tremendous work they are doing, but there are concerns that we would be pulled into the EUNAVFOR force and that our mission would move from one of search and rescue to something that would not be in the interests of the Irish State and the Irish people. Can the Minister clarify his plans for its role in the future?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A number of questions have been tabled on the operations in the Mediterranean and I thank colleagues for raising that issue. We made a decision a number of weeks ago to send a ship to the Mediterranean.It caused a few eyebrows to be raised at the time because this is the first overseas mission for the Naval Service. Most people would recognise now that it has been a very worthy mission and decision. Just under 1,200 people have been rescued from boats, some of which were sinking, others had run out of fuel and others, which had men, women, children and infants on board, had no water or food left. Commander Pearse O'Donnell and his crew on the LE Eithneare doing an extraordinarily professional and compassionate job in the Mediterranean and I want to put that on the record of the House. I thank them for the work they are doing on behalf of everybody here.

On the political point that the Deputy made, I want to give him some reassurance. We made a decision to send a ship for a search and rescue mission to partner on a bilateral basis with the Italian navy. That is what we are doing and that is what we had committed to do. If we were to do anything else in that area in terms of linking in with other missions or other political decisions, there would need to be a Government decision on that and, I assume, a debate on it in this House. Certainly, I will inform the House before I do anything like that. I expect the commitment we have made in respect of the LE Eithnewill continue up to the end of September. The LE Eithnewill probably be replaced by another ship in seven or eight weeks' time but we are committed to a search and rescue humanitarian mission which is why we did not, for example, have the triple-lock process applying to this decision. We intend to maintain that as a humanitarian search and rescue mission for the foreseeable future.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his response. The Irish people are immensely proud of the search and rescue humanitarian mission. It fits in with Ireland being a neutral country but one that contributes proactively to humanitarian responses globally. I urge the Minister to ensure all this good work is not undermined by going down the road of a EUNAVFOR mission. I would have concerns around such a mission. It is dangerous and volatile for people fleeing war. I am particularly mindful of the catastrophe that is happening in Libya and, unfortunately, the international community has created an absolute mess there. That brings me on to the refugee issue, which I will deal with further at the next opportunity, and Ireland taking in a reasonable and fair share of refugees.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I attended a meeting of both Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers at which this issue and how we can respond to it was discussed. It is very unusual to have such a combined meeting. A decision was made in principle to set up EUNAVFOR Med, which essentially has a number of phases to it, ranging from patrolling and rescue to trying to target and undermine some of the people trafficking gangs, which are operating and making a good deal of money out of creating human misery and putting people into very dangerous and vulnerable positions.

Anything beyond search and rescue and assistance operations will require a UN Security Council resolution and the support of state actors, such as Libya, that have an interest in this. We are quite a ways from that, though. Ireland's focus is on doing what we can do practically and working through the Departments of Justice and Equality and Foreign Affairs and Trade in terms of humanitarian assistance. If the other mission gets set up on the back of a Security Council mandate, we will have to make a decision as to whether we want to be a part of that. At the moment, though, it is not on the table.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Like me, the Minister would have been proud of the words of the President, Michael D. Higgins, when he was in Lebanon regarding Europe's failure to deal with the refugee crisis and the unacceptable catastrophe of thousands of people drowning in the Mediterranean. Italy and Malta cannot be expected to shoulder the responsibility. This is a European responsibility. I note that there has been confirmation from the Minister for Justice and Equality that we will receive 300 refugees, but we can do more. While this is not the Minister's area of responsibility, I suppose he will work in partnership with the Ministers for Justice and Equality and Foreign Affairs and Trade. I urge the three of them to ensure that Ireland does as much as it can and shoulders its part of the responsibility so that we can bring an end to this heartbreaking situation in which so many people have lost their lives in desperation. Consider our own history of emigration. We are the only country in the world that has a smaller population than we had in the early 1800s. Of all of the countries in Europe, one would imagine that we would do our best to support the effort to give safe refuge to people fleeing appalling scenarios.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is important to state that what Ireland is doing in the Mediterranean forms part of a collective effort. The UK and Germany are also there and Italy is heavily involved in co-ordinating search and rescue operations, processing asylum applications and looking after people's needs, which are complex. Large numbers are involved. This is a major issue and will not go away any time soon, so there needs to be a significant focus in the EU on trying to assist in preventing the causes of mass migration in north Africa. There are multiple causes and, unfortunately, there is more conflict in much of the world now than there has been for a long time.

Responsibility for making decisions on numbers lies with the Minister for Justice and Equality. She is considering this matter and I have discussed it with her. We have made clear that Ireland will, and wants to, do its fair share, but we must also recognise the size of our country in terms of what we can accommodate. What is not acceptable is allowing countries like Malta, Italy and, increasingly, Greece to deal with the problems in the Mediterranean on their own. So, I-----

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry, Minister, but I must call Deputy Clare Daly to ask her question. We are out of time.