Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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38. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans for continued support for migrants in the Mediterranean area by the Naval Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25500/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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In April 2017, the Government approved the despatch of a Naval vessel to the Mediterranean to undertake humanitarian search and rescue tasks as part of a bilateral arrangement with the Italian authorities. Similar arrangements were put in place in 2015 and 2016. The role of the Irish Naval vessels is to provide a search and rescue capability and to undertake humanitarian search and rescue operations at sea in the Mediterranean. L.É. Eithne was deployed on 23 May 2017 and this year to date, has rescued 1,187 persons from unseaworthy crafts. Overall 16,808 migrants have been rescued since Irish Naval Service vessels were first deployed in the Mediterranean in May 2015.

The despatch of Irish Naval vessels is facilitated as part of a bilateral arrangement with the Italian Government on the deployment and operation of the vessels and on the disembarkation and reception of any persons rescued or vessels in distress, in accordance with the applicable international conventions on the rescue of persons in distress at sea.

L.É. Eithne is due to return home later this month and it is our intention, subject to agreement from the Italian authorities, to deploy a further vessel to the Mediterranean to replace L.É. Eithne.

Ireland is fully supportive of the EU approach to the migration crisis. In this connection, EUNAVFOR MED (Operation Sophia) is another element of a comprehensive approach to addressing the migration crisis in the South Central Mediterranean. Operation Sophia is the EU Naval Operation designed to disrupt the people smuggling operations in the Mediterranean and to enforce the arms embargo on Libya. Potential participation by Ireland in the mission is currently being considered. EUNAVFOR MED is an armed international peace support operation mandated by the United Nations. Any decision to participate in Operation Sophia would also require Government and Dáil approval.