SB003 Irish Naval Act

SB003 Acht um Cabhlach na hEireann

Noting that:

Ireland has yet to reach one quarter of its commitments regarding the Irish Refugee Protection Program.

Our role as co-chair to UN summits has been defined and undermined as ambivalent and unaffected while the world’s displaced population is at an all time high.

The Chief Executive of Dóchas, representative of global and local groups, has advised honoring the commitment to humanitarian funding additional to overseas commitments.

Refugees currently receive international protections within 12 weeks.

Previous White Papers on defense have called for a new multipurpose vessel equipped with a fully functioning hospital to help in war and conflict situations.

The Irish navy has rescued more than 12,000 people in the Mediterranean since the drastic increase in the migrant crisis.

According to the Irish Rescue Committee nine out of ten people in Ireland are sympathetic toward refugees from Syria.

Official delegations and explanations blaming Italy and Greece for operational delays have returned no alternatives.

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

The construction of a new offshore patrol vessel, the LÉ Seamus Heaney to join the Irish Naval Service.

This vessel, along with the LÉ Samuel Beckett, LÉ James Joyce, and LÉ William Butler Yeats will be outfitted not only as hospital ships but administrative centres capable of housing non Irish political representatives.

The above vessels will have a mandate, first and foremost, to maintain the record of the INS as a world leader in humanitarian efforts.

The above vessels will work to process rescues and refugees with a focus on the vulnerable, including but not limited to survivors of torture and violence and women and children in need of medical care, along with their closest relatives

The above vessels will house, facilitate and coordinate with various approved international organizations, especially the UN, Mediterranean governments, the UK and relevant NGOs in the Republic, Northern Ireland, and elsewhere.

Refugees returned to Ireland will be escorted to Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres, and recognition of international protections may be pushed to 24 weeks under the advisement of INS, UN, or EU officials.

This bill was submitted and sponsored by /u/Fiachaire

This reading shall end on the 2nd of November at 23:59