Dáil debates

Tuesday, 9 June 2015

Other Questions

Naval Service Operations

3:10 pm

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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113. To ask the Minister for Defence if the Irish Defence Forces plan to take any role in the European Union Naval Force Operation in the Mediterranean, which received the approval of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council on Defence on 18 May 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21375/15]

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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On 18 May, the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Defence agreed to establish what the Council refers to as an EU military operation to break the business of smugglers and traffickers of people in the Mediterranean. We know the LE Eithnehas been dispatched to assist with the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean and has done some good work. Can the Minister confirm that this vessel or any other Irish vessel will not become involved in any EU military operation in the Mediterranean? Would the Government advocate that no one else in Europe become involved in a military capacity in this area, given the fiasco of 2011 when there was so-called no-fly mission over Libya which resulted in the place being destroyed?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not think we are talking about a repeat of that. At the formal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council with Ministers of Defence in Brussels on 18 May, a Council decision to establish a European Union military operation, EUNAVFOR Med, was adopted as part of a comprehensive approach to addressing the migration crisis in the south central Mediterranean. Operational planning for this naval operation is currently under way and it is anticipated that the launch of the operation may be on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council later this month.

It is intended that the mission’s mandate will be implemented in sequential phases. The first phase of the operation will support the detection and monitoring of migration networks through information gathering and patrolling in accordance with international law. The second phase involves the targeting, seizure and possible destruction of the vessels and assets of human traffickers. The third phase is an operational-disruption phase to try to stop people traffickers. The second and third phase shall commence in accordance with any applicable UN Security Council resolution and-or the consent of Libya.

Consideration of participation by the Irish Defence Forces in EUNAVFOR Med will only occur if there is a UN Security Council resolution and the applicable national statutory requirements are met. I understand that discussions on a draft Security Council resolution are ongoing and the Deputy will appreciate that any further comment would be premature at this point, pending the outcome of that process. In the meantime Ireland, through its deployment of the LE Eithne, will continue to assist the Italian authorities in the humanitarian search and rescue operation efforts to prevent further tragedy and loss of life at sea.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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It is a bit worrying that the Minister has not answered either of my questions. Does he not think that we should play a neutral role and advocate for non-military action in the area? The idea that military action could in any way help things is ridiculous.

The EU was formed on the foundations built up after the Second World War and on the idea that inhumanity should not be tolerated. The idea that we would now use any type of measures to stop people coming to Europe is something I find hard to take, given the reasons that they want to come here. Sadly, we too have played a part. People want to come to Europe because we have gone to their countries and destroyed them. They are being driven out of their homes through economic policies, trade tariffs and military intervention.

3 o’clock

More than 33 million people have been displaced because of war, yet we continue to allow Shannon Airport to be used by the US military machine, the biggest one on the planet, to cause devastation in many of the countries in question. Syria and Afghanistan are in the top three countries for internally displaced people. Can we take an active role and say that enough is enough and that the arms industry and the militarisation of the planet are madness, causing untold misery?

3:15 pm

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not accept the premise that every conflict in north Africa or every conflict that is contributing to mass migration in that part of the world has been caused by European or Western intervention, which seems to be the basis of Deputy Wallace's case.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I did not say that.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It was agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting that the European Union would make an effort to disrupt human trafficking on a massive scale, where organised crime is essentially feeding on people's misery and vulnerability. We have an obligation to disrupt that while, at the same time, we have an obligation to assist people who are fleeing persecution.

At the moment, Ireland's commitment is a much more straightforward and simple one. It is about search and rescue and emergency responses. That is a relatively straightforward task in comparison with the other, which is much more complicated. We cannot simply do nothing and allow organised and well resourced human traffickers to continue to move large numbers of people, piling them like cattle onto boats that are not fit to get more than 30 km out to sea. This is an issue on which the European Union should not sit idly by, and anything we do should have a UN mandate and international approval.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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We argued here a few months back about how mad it was to stop the Mare Nostrum operation. Did the Irish Government object to the stopping of Mare Nostrum? The argument against it was that it was encouraging migrants by rescuing them, but in actual fact, when we stopped saving them, they drowned. Up to 1,800 people have drowned already this year. It is great that Ireland has paid played a role in rescuing some of them. However, several root causes of the problem are not being addressed. We do not seem to want to talk about the reasons people are risking their lives in such numbers. Most of the solutions from the EU are short-term, geared towards stopping these people from coming here. The Europeans - including ourselves, given that we have facilitated the US war machine through Shannon Airport - have a responsibility for some of these people.

Also, I did not say they were all displaced because of war. The Minister misquoted me. However, many of them have been, and 33 million is a lot of people. We have a responsibility to do something about this.

Ireland has agreed to take 300 of the so-called good immigrants who are in camps waiting to be given a placement somewhere. However, up to 200,000 people have arrived in Europe. Are we prepared to take some of these people in? I believe we have a responsibility. They cannot just stay in camps in Italy and Greece forever. As a country, given that we have been so fond of going all over the planet ourselves, we have got to take a more humanitarian approach to these people. Will Ireland consider taking in some of the 200,000 immigrants who have arrived in Europe already?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is not true that Ireland and other countries are not discussing the causes of these problems. They are, but the solutions are complex. Deputy Wallace does not want any intervention, yet he wants solutions to the causes of many of these problems, as in Afghanistan, where he does not want any Irish involvement in helping to build capacity.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Absolutely not.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We are in the business of doing multiple things at the same time - namely, trying to save people who are at risk of drowning when trying to cross the Mediterranean because they are in a desperate and vulnerable situation. That is, however, just an emergency response. The deeper issue is how the European Union can use its influence in a peaceful way, primarily to bring stability to countries that can look after their own populations rather than facilitating or causing the movements of large numbers of people looking for a better life.

We will not have the solution to this today or tomorrow, and this is the truth of it. In the meantime we need to ensure people do not drown, that they are treated with some dignity when they claim asylum and that there is a fair process to assess genuine asylum seekers. We also need to ensure Ireland, within reason, bears its fair share of the burden of accommodating some of these refugees. It will be up to the Government as a whole and, in particular the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, to decide the actual numbers involved.