Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to outline the matters relating to the Government's decision. I was visiting the Italian Senate when the foreign affairs representative for the European Union outlined that it was closing down Operation Mare Nostrum, a naval rescue mission carried out predominantly by the Italian naval service, covering a vast area of hundreds of thousands of square miles. This was being done because migrants were being rescued in the middle of the Mediterranean, which was encouraging migration and the operation of traffickers. In 2013, after one year of the operation, it was scaled down and renamed as Operation Triton, which only lasted one year. It only had two ships and a vastly reduced area of operation of 10,000 square miles in the Mediterranean. With regard to the Commissioner's objective of trying to slow migration from North Africa and whether it was a success, it was only when 1,000 migrants drowned in the space of a week that the EU saw the error of its ways. There were no rescue vessels in the Mediterranean but the traffickers were not stopping and the people in the boats did not realise there might be people to rescue them.

The EU's track record in operating in the Mediterranean is built on trial and error, with the error costing the lives of thousands or unknown tens of thousands of unfortunate migrants coming from North and central Africa and beyond in the hope of trying to improve their lives. It is part of a broader problem. It is not just about Syria and these are economic migrants in many cases, which the EU is not particularly interested in. Many of the problems in the home countries are caused by the EU's trade policies. For every €1 given by western countries in aid, they take €3 because of trade policies that force governments to accept unfavourable trade agreements that damage industries in African countries. It is a major problem and this is a Band-Aid on an open sore that will not be fixed by this reorientation of the policies of EU countries under this United Nations-mandated mission.

Listening to the head of policy on security and foreign policy saying the Mare Nostrum operation was being closed because it only encouraged people to come to Europe because it rescued them, one must wonder about the wisdom of this manoeuvre, which is meant to apprehend boats. If there are people who need to be rescued, that will be done. There should be careful monitoring by the Irish Government so we are not sucked into another version of Operation Triton, which was a scaled-down rescue mission. The Irish Government rescued people purely on humanitarian grounds in the last number of deployments by the Naval Service, which is to be commended by all people in this House.

I wonder about the EU's reorientation in this matter. I know the EU's long-term objective is a concern of many Members is this House and Fianna Fáil is very supportive of the triple lock and this is a UN-mandated mission. The devil is in the detail when it comes to the EU's long-term goal. It is giving most of the assets to support this mission. In no less grand a venue than the Italian Senate, Ms Mogherini stated that while in her position as head of the EU's foreign service and security arm, the EU would replace the United States in operations on its own borders. There is somebody in the position of developing and creating policy for security in the EU's area of operation who is wishing to replace the United States in that respect, so one must wonder about the concerns of citizens in Ireland around the less than wholesome objectives by our European colleagues.

I do not doubt the Minister of State, the Government and the Irish people's commitment to assisting people who find themselves in this desperate position, but the EU is not that committed. Unfortunately and as a result of geography, the Italians are left bearing a major burden. The Minister of State pointed out that nearly 100,000 people were rescued so far this year. At the last count, quite some time ago, there were 96,000 unaccompanied minors rescued by EU and UN boats in the Mediterranean left in Italian refugee centres and can no longer be traced. It is a disgrace in itself.

There is the matter of our EU trade policies with African countries, as well as the reorientation of this mission to try to stop smugglers. It has the accidental side-effect of rescuing people because if there are people in need of rescue, that will be done. When these vulnerable people arrive on European soil, including girls, boys and women, they are left at the mercy of less than scrupulous individuals around Europe because the EU has no better policy than just to land them on Italian shores. The overall approach is then of concern. The Naval Service's rescuing of individuals in the Mediterranean in any circumstances is to be welcomed but it is a Band-Aid, as I stated, on an open sore caused by everything from a lack of credible and fair trade policies to the fact we are now orienting to go after smugglers. That is important but for those who find themselves in Libya and the north coast of Africa, as well as the refugees coming from Syria and fleeing trouble, the EU's solution is to send them to Turkey, a country with a less than commendable record - an atrocious record, really - when it comes to human rights there and beyond its borders. Every life to be saved by the Naval Service on this mission must be commended. It is done under the auspices of the Government and the Irish people and they welcome such action.