Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We, as a nation, often have a lot to be proud of. I would like the Leader and maybe you, a Chathaoirligh, to write a letter to the Minister for Defence congratulating our Defence Forces on the magnificent humanitarian job they are doing in the Mediterranean Sea at present. The Naval Service has saved over 1,000 people.

We had debate here on the crisis in the Middle East recently and I think it is time for another debate. People in desperate situations do desperate things. These people are taking their lives in their hands by being conned, cajoled and told that they will get safe passage to Europe. They are suddenly being abandoned on ships that are not capable of bringing humans, let alone animals, across a sea.

It was a brave decision by the Department of Defence and the Minister of the day to send the LE Eithne to the Mediterranean. What proves it had to be done is that we have saved over 1,000 people. A total of 1,000 people have lost their lives already. It is time for a debate. We see the ongoing problems in Syria, Libya, Somalia and parts of west Africa. These people are doing desperate things to try to better their lives. It is time that we, as a House, try to influence the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the EU and the United Nations to intervene in what is a desperate situation around north Africa. The Leader or the Cathaoirleach should write a letter of congratulations to the Minister for Defence or the Brigadier General of the Naval Service to congratulate him on what has been a magnificent achievement by the Irish Defence Forces in recent weeks in the Mediterranean.