Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I welcome her confirmation that our naval forces are not handing people over to the heinous regime in Libya. I heard first-hand testimony from Sea-Watch in the Council of Europe about just how appalling the Libyan coastguard is. However, the fundamental problem remains. We are funding organisations such as the Libyan authorities and its coastguard, which are nothing less than gangsters carrying out the most horrendous of human rights abuses. The clear solution to the Libyan crisis, which is not simple, is to evacuate the camps and place the 6,000 people who are in them. Done across 27 countries, that would only amount to 200 people per country. The Government should take a lead on this. To be honest, we have not done enough. I will conclude by quoting the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." This issue matters enormously and the Government has not yet called for an ending of funding to the Libyan coastguard. Surely, as a matter of urgency, our Government must do that.