Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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122. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will report on discussions held with European Union counterparts on possible military action connected to the current humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17005/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean is of great concern to Ireland, and to its EU and Southern partners.  Solutions must be found jointly to address a crisis on this scale.

On Monday 20 April, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade attended a joint meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs and Justice and Home Affairs Councils to discuss migration issues, and in particular the situation in the Mediterranean.  At that meeting, Ministers Frances Fitzgerald and Charlie Flanagan, together with our EU partners, confirmed our strong commitment to act to prevent recurrence of such tragedies.  It was agreed that work would be taken forward along three strands: reinforcing Frontex activities to save lives at sea, a fairer sharing of responsibilities regarding resettlement and relocation projects within the EU and a range of options to combat organized crime networks and human traffickers.

The Taoiseach attended a special meeting of the European Council on 23 April convened to discuss the evolving situation in the Mediterranean.  At that meeting, the Taoiseach stated that Ireland is prepared to send a Naval vessel on a humanitarian mission to assist in the emergency. EU Heads of State and Government agreed that the immediate priority is to prevent more people from dying at sea.  They agreed to use all tools at the EU’s disposal and to work in cooperation with countries of origin and transit of migrants to tackle the root causes of the current human emergency.

A comprehensive range of commitments were agreed, including at least tripling financial resources for Operations Triton and Poseidon, thereby enabling an increase in the search and rescue possibilities within the mandate of FRONTEX.  EU leaders also committed to actions to prevent illegal migration flows, to reinforce internal EU solidarity and responsibility in relation to the processing of asylum applications and relocation of migrants, and to combat traffickers in accordance with international law.

The Council did not make a specific commitment in relation to military action.  There were two references in the EU statement to possible CSDP actions.  The first concerns systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers, who exploit vulnerable people for profit and put their lives at risk.  In this regard the Council invited High Representative Mogherini to begin preparations for a possible CSDP mission.  Secondly, EU leaders committed to providing increased support to southern partner countries to monitor and control land borders, building on current civilian CSDP operations in the region.

Ireland will continue to participate actively in discussions in the coming weeks on the various strands of the EU’s comprehensive strategy, and to contribute to EU efforts to prevent further loss of life at sea.

Pending further discussions at international level, a number of EU member States, including Ireland, are considering the provision of various forms of assistance to alleviate the crisis in the Mediterranean. I have asked that all efforts are directed at deploying an IrishNaval vessel at the earliest opportunityto take part in humanitarian efforts,subject to the legal and other modalities being finalised.  My Department and the Defence Forces have already commenced operational and logistics planning for the deployment and my officials are coordinating the cross-Government issues and modalities.  The objective is to ensure we can bring the matter to the Government for final approval as soon as possible.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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123. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will report on any discussions held with European Union counterparts regarding refugees from North Africa; if she supports granting visas to persons from the Middle East and north Africa fleeing the conflicts in the region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17004/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I would refer the Deputy to my reply to Questions 198 and 199 of 28 April 2015 giving the latest position on developments at EU level.

Ireland is one of the Member States involved in refugee resettlement with the UNHCR, as we have been for several years. Ireland also ran its own Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Programme last year for persons who are considered by their sponsoring family member present in Ireland to be most at risk. 114 beneficiaries have been granted admission under the programme.