Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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261. To ask the Minister for Defence when he will dispatch the L E Róisín to the Mediterranean to undertake search and rescue activities in respect of the refugee and humanitarian crises. [7167/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Following a Government Decision on 12 May 2015, the Irish Naval Vessel, L.É. Eithne, was deployed to the Mediterranean on 16 May, 2015, to assist the Italian Authorities with the migrant crisis. Two further vessels were deployed, L.É. Niamh and L.É. Samuel Beckett, and the deployment was completed on 29 November 2015, with L.É. Samuel Beckett arriving back in Ireland on 17 December 2015. During that period 8,592 people were rescued in the Mediterranean by Irish Naval Vessels.

The humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean continues to be of great concern to Ireland and to our EU partners. The Government, on 6 April 2016, approved the return of an Irish Naval vessel to undertake humanitarian search and rescue tasks in the Mediterranean, subject to finalisation of operational arrangements. It is anticipated that L.É Róisin will be despatched within the next month. Subject to the operational demands and requirements of the mission, it is intended that there will be two further rotations with each deployment lasting approximately 12 weeks (i.e. up to a maximum of 3 Naval Service vessels deployed over the course of 2016 during the main migrant season).

The role of the Irish Naval vessel will be to provide a search and rescue capability and to undertake humanitarian search and rescue operations at sea in the Mediterranean. Assistance to persons in distress at sea will be provided in accordance with the applicable provisions of international conventions governing search and rescue situations. Co-ordination of search and rescue efforts and the provision of humanitarian assistance will be achieved through close co-operation with the relevant Italian authorities.

The despatch of an Irish naval vessel represents a tangible and valuable Irish national contribution to assisting with the continuing migration crisis in the Mediterranean