Must do more - African refugees rescued

Our navy continued its admirable work in the Mediterranean over the weekend when the LÉ Niamh rescued 225 people 112km north east of Tripoli on Saturday night. The 139 men, 74 women and 12 children rescued are receiving water, food and medical assistance. The LÉ Niamh had rescued 1,772 migrants before this most recent operation.

The flow of migrants trying to flee North Africa, and the everyday horrors endured in some of that continent’s failed states, shows no sigh of slowing — nor will it, even if the arrival of winter makes the sea crossing even more dangerous.

We can be proud of the work our navy has done but we need to do so much more. Germany and Sweden have led the way on this issue and welcomed, proportionately, far more refugees than any other European country.

It may not be convenient but we have a moral resposibility to do more to help these desperate people. We should, if for no reason other than naked self-interest, take in more refugees and show them and their compatriots that Isis and all of the zealots who would destroy our way of life are wrong.