Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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382. To ask the Minister for Defence the legal provisions under which the Long Éireann Eithne is being despatched to the Mediterranean; and the legal and other modalities needed to be finalised, in order that this decision could be taken. [18310/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The statutory authority for the despatch of a contingent or member of the Permanent Defence Force for humanitarian operations, under the authority of the Government, is set out in section 3 (1) (f) of the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006 which provides that:

“3 (1) A contingent or member of the Permanent Defence Force may, with the prior approval of and on the authority of the Government, be despatched for service outside the State for the purposes of

(f) undertaking humanitarian tasks in response to an actual or potential disaster or emergency”.

A range of other modalities are currently being finalised to enable the mission to take place. In this regard, discussions are at an advanced stage with the Italian Authorities on arrangements covering a number of issues relating to the deployment of the Vessel, including the coordination of the vessels operations and the disembarkation of persons rescued and/or vessels in distress.

The deployment of the Naval Service was approved by Government today. I am satisfied that we should be in a position to despatch the Naval Vessel to the Mediterranean shortly.