Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and his officials. We have all watched in horror over the summer period as the death toll in Syria continues to rise. We have all seen the reports on the use of chemical weapons on that fateful day of 21 August. There is no doubt that the situation in Syria has been the principal foreign affairs issue since the last meeting of the committee. It was for that reason that I asked the Tánaiste to come here to update members on this important issue that is very urgent for all of us. I presume it has been debated in every parliament chamber in Europe in the past few weeks. This is our first opportunity to debate it. I call on the Tánaiste to make his presentation to the committee.