Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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5. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on discussions with her counterparts in the European Union regarding the situation facing migrants entering the European Union via the Mediterranean. [27089/15]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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I ask the Minister to report on discussions with her European colleagues on the circumstances facing migrants attempting to enter the European Union via the Mediterranean. I ask the question in the context of the thousands of deaths among those trying to enter the EU, as well as the report on the RTE programme "This Week" broadcast on Sunday last, which obtained a briefing document setting out the position to be taken by the Minister on this issue, which, if accurate, can only be described as callous and uncaring.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I will deal first with the Deputy's second point. Ireland has never voiced opposition to search and rescue missions at European Union level, nor was I or any other Minister ever advised to do so. Internal briefing pointed to one of the unintended consequences of such operations, namely, the risk of more smuggling activity in even more dangerous and unseaworthy vessels. There was no question of Ireland or any Ministers being in any way at odds with our European colleagues on this matter. There were concerns about how best to deal with people smuggling and traffickers and the risk of taking any action that would encourage the smugglers to abuse more vulnerable people and place them in unseaworthy vessels. These concerns remain. Some 200,000 people will be placed in such vessels this year and will land at various ports or be rescued at sea.

The European Union has six or seven naval ships in the Mediterranean, including the LE Eithne, which is carrying out search and rescue operations. On one occasion, the LE Eithnerescued 650 migrants from dangerous boats, which can only travel for about 20 km once they have been put to sea. Approximately 15% of the people rescued are women.

One of those rescued just a few weeks ago by the naval ship was a four week old baby. These people are being exploited and, of course, the first thing we have to do is save them.

As Deputy Paul Murphy said, the number of deaths rose to record levels in April, but have since dropped off very significantly in May and June as a consequence of the enhanced search and rescue activity by EU member states. We now have a bilateral arrangement with Italy which allows our naval vessel to go down into those waters. We are not party to the Schengen Agreement and there was no legal competence to go down to the Mediterranean at EU level until the recent agreement was made.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

LE Eithne has already rescued more than 3,000 migrants. The situation in the Mediterranean is a major priority at EU level. The consensus both from the emergency joint meeting of EU Foreign and Interior Affairs Ministers in April, attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and myself, and the special European Council, attended by the Taoiseach a few days later was that the EU needed to take urgent action on a wide number of fronts. The European Council conclusions from 23 April laid down clear guidelines on what actions were necessary. These focused on strengthening Europe's presence at sea, fighting traffickers in accordance with international law, preventing illegal migration flows and reinforcing internal solidarity and responsibility.

On 13 May 2015, the European Commission published the European agenda on migration, setting out a combination of immediate actions and longer term strategies. This was followed by more specific measures on resettlement and relocation; an action plan against migrant smuggling and guidelines on implementing the eurodac regulation. The two Commission proposals receiving most attention are those on the resettlement of 20,000 refugees and the relocation of 40,000 asylum seekers in clear need of international protection from Italy and Greece to other member states, where their protection applications will be examined. These measures, in particular the latter, were the main focus of discussion at the recent Justice and Home Affairs Council, which I attended on 15-16 June. At that meeting, there were significant differences on the question of mandatory relocation quotas for member states and some also had difficulties with the share attributed to them. The European Council returned to this theme in June, as agreed, and while the discussions were lengthy and difficult, they were also constructive. The Council conclusions focus on three distinct pillars, relocation and resettlement, return and readmission, and co-operation with countries of origin and transit. It includes an agreement to help 60,000 vulnerable people, through a mixture of resettlement and relocation. Relocation will be exceptional and temporary and will be achieved on the basis of a voluntary distribution plan. This plan will be agreed by consensus between member states by the end of July.

Ireland's position articulated most recently by the Taoiseach at the European Council and by me at the Justice and Home Affairs Council is one of support for solidarity which we were demonstrating in a number of ways. Ireland responded almost immediately by agreeing to take 300 refugees for resettlement in addition to the 220 we were already committed to taking. This puts us close to double the share we were being asked to take in the Commission proposal. Clearly, our substantial humanitarian aid and the work of the LE Eithneare further demonstrations of our solidarity. On the question of relocation, we have indicated that we are willing to give the issue careful consideration as an emergency once-off measure. Ireland is not bound by the proposal in view of the protocol to the treaties on our position regarding the area of freedom, justice and security. Ireland would have to opt-in to the measure and this would require Oireachtas approval before we could take part. Realistically, given the timing and the need to see how the proposal evolves before making a decision, any exercise of Ireland's option in this respect would have to be made after the measure had been adopted at EU level. Ireland is also one of many member states to emphasise the importance of addressing the root causes of migration in a holistic and comprehensive way.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister accepts that the number of deaths has decreased since Operation Mare Nostrum was re-instated. It is a search and rescue operation as opposed to an emphasis on border control, which characterised Operation Triton. Does the Minister therefore agree that the cancellation of Operation Mare Nostrum was likely responsible for the deaths of migrants attempting to enter the European Union? The reported advice to the Minister that the migrant crisis had little direct impact on Ireland and no intervention was anticipated at the meeting is quite incredible. Should the Irish Government not have intervened against the calls of others, including, reportedly, Britain, for the cancellation of Operation Mare Nostrum to say we should not have a fortress-Europe policy where this is treated as a defence issue, but should adopt instead a humanitarian approach to saving people's lives? What position did Ireland take in the discussions that took place around the question of the cancellation of Operation Mare Nostrum?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As I have said, all countries across Europe expressed serious concern about the situation that has faced and continues to face all member states. Responding in the best possible way was on everyone's mind. Clearly, there were humanitarian issues. No one wants to see even one person lost at sea in these circumstances. How does one deal effectively with people traffickers and smugglers who are ruthless and putting people into these boats? There is a concern still shared by some member states that having a response in the area is sending the message to the smugglers to put more people into those boats. Clearly, the European action programme on migration envisages more work with countries in Africa, more co-operation, more border controls, which is are very important, and a whole range of other actions that must be taken. Obviously, the humanitarian response of saving lives is critical. That is what is being done and Ireland is one of six countries which is involved in the search and rescue operation.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Did the Irish Government intervene at the time of the debate around Operation Mare Nostrum to say search and rescue operations should be maintained? The smugglers are obviously dealers in death and should be condemned, but they are not the essential reason people are travelling. People are travelling because they are in conditions of extreme poverty, are desperate and are trying to enter the European Union to have a better life. I do not accept that search and rescue missions inadvertently assist criminal gangs and encourage less sea-worthy vessels. People are going to travel to try to access Europe as long as their economies are destroyed and they are subject to wars, all of which the European Union more generally has a hand in. Does the Minister have a comment on the fact that the position paper outlined that Ireland should press for longer-term solutions such as requiring neighbouring states to include in trade agreements with the EU conditions on stopping migration to the Union? That is a repeat of the outsourcing of the militarisation of Europe's borders further beyond Europe as was done with Colonel Gadaffi whereby these people are paid money to keep migrants away. Is that really the answer? Should we not be trying to improve conditions in North Africa and the Middle East so that people do not feel the need to travel in such dangerous vessels?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right that the conditions in those countries have to be improved.

The vast majority of migrants coming through now come from quite a range of countries but many come from Syria and Eritrea. Clearly, the breakdown of governance - the conflict situations - are the root causes of the problem. The Deputy is absolutely right that greater global work needs to be done to deal with those conflict situations and to ensure that there is governance in those countries in order that people are not as vulnerable as they clearly are at present.

Ireland being outside the Schengen Agreement is in a different position. However, I certainly have been very strong in saying that we want to respond in a humanitarian manner. We immediately responded to the request for resettlement of Syrian and Eritrean refugees when we were asked to do so some months ago. We are taking slightly above the numbers requested. We have resettled approximately 2,000 people during the past ten years. That has happened where people have been assessed as refugees. We have also received a new request for the relocation of refugees which we now have to consider.