Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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497. To ask the Minister for Defence further to the reply to Question Nos. 357 and 358 of 20 October 2015 if he will specifically and unambiguously confirm whether the triple lock mechanism and the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006 prevents the Defence Forces from participating in phases two and three of the European Union naval force operation, Mediterranean (Operation Sophia), in the south central Mediterranean, which was approved by the European Council on 18 May 2015. [37855/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Naval Service is currently deployed to the Mediterranean sea undertaking humanitarian search and rescue operations on the basis of a bilateral agreement with Italy and pursuant to the provision of Section 3(1)(f) of the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006. Ireland is not currently participating in the European Union CSDP mission EUNAVFOR MED - Operation Sophia.

As I stated in my reply to Parliamentary Question Numbers 357 and 358 of the 20 October 2015, “there are no plans to deploy naval personnel or vessels to the EU Mission at this time”. In addition, I advised the House that “The LE Samuel Beckett will continue humanitarian search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean in close co-ordination with the Italian authorities. Following completion of her mission in early December, the operation will be reviewed in detail.” As such, detailed consideration of the legal provisions of potential Defence Forces participation in the EU mission has not arisen to date.

As part of that review, the question of any further deployment and the nature and operational context of any such deployment will be examined, including whether Ireland should participate in the CSDP mission. It is at that stage that the legal issues, including the question of whether and what UN Security Council Resolution might be required in terms of Ireland’s participation in the CSDP operation, having regard to the requirements of the provisions of the Defence Acts regarding overseas deployment of Defence Forces personnel, fall to be considered.

It is our understanding that various aspects of the proposed mission, in particular Phase 2 part (ii) and phase 3, will, of their nature, require a UN Security Council Resolution and/or a request from the host State, if the mission is to proceed to these stages in accordance with international law. However, the question of Ireland’s participation will still need to be considered in the context of any then applicable UN Security Council Resolutions, international law, the situation in Libya and the provisions of the Defence Acts and that will be a matter for the Attorney General to advise on at the appropriate juncture.