Mr. Barry Andrews:

Irish Government aid is provided through the UN system for the most part. The UN system must operate on the principle that the sovereignty of each member state is respected. Accordingly, aid is channelled through and respects the sovereignty of the member state and, as such, relies on it to ensure aid is distributed evenly among all of those affected by the conflict who have humanitarian needs. Naturally, there are many who have reasonably concluded that the Syrian government is not minded to distribute the aid evenly. GOAL operates in an area which is controlled by the Free Syrian Army and we provide a balance with other NGOs working on that side within the country. While Irish Government aid goes through one side, there is a humanitarian need on both sides. We do not take a position as to whose humanitarian need is greater. We are talking about women and children who are affected by conflicts with which they have nothing to do and no interest in. GOAL works in a difficult area but is on that particular side.

The question of adopting a position regarding the government in Damascus is a very difficult one. It is something we must explore. We have not done so. While it is very difficult to be on both sides in this kind of conflict, it it an issue we recognise. We do not advocate for one side or the other; we simply want to get access to provide humanitarian interventions for those most affected by the conflict. Deputy Crowe raised an issue. The cliché is that "truth is the first casualty of war", which raises the question of what we can rely on. One hears propaganda from both sides. Naturally, the spectre of al-Qaeda is raised by one side while allegations of atrocities are made by the Free Syrian Army. Atrocities are being committed by both sides. The media might not be very good at attending to these issues. Reading the transcripts of the committee's December meeting, I noted Senator Norris complaining that there were no media representatives in attendance.