President Michael D Higgins is expected to discuss the migrant crisis today when he gives the opening address at a major Amnesty conference in Dublin.

The charity has been calling for safe, legal routes into Europe to help stem the loss of life in the Mediterranean as migrants try to flee war-torn countries.

The Irish navy's search and rescue mission in the area is due for review in September and there are calls for their deployment to be extended.

The L.E. Niamh rescued almost 400 survivors this week alone when a wooden boat went down with 600 people on board.

Commander Ken Minehane (Pron: Min-a-han) says many of the migrants were very unwell: