Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is difficult to get a handle on this rather complex situation. I thank the delegates for their contributions and for their sterling work in the region. I support the call for the establishment of humanitarian corridors. Unfortunately, it is probably very easy to say it and to ask that it be done. I refer to the report on Syria by Mary Fitzgerald in The Irish Times. She explained that there are at least 12 armed factions in control of various parts of Syria. She wrote about the composition of these factions and the complexities of having the Kurds on the Turkish border and the relationship between Turkey, the Kurds and Lebanon and Hezbollah support for Assad. It is an extremely disturbing country. The key players are Russia and America. The European Union does not seem to be effective but it is a significant contributor to the aid programmes, for which it is to be congratulated. Is the incredible friction that exists between the fighters and the establishment Islamists, with people joining up in different camps, a contributory factor in the continuing escalation of the problem? The poor unfortunate average civilians are suffering the most.

I refer to the very detailed coloured map which accompanies Ms Fitzgerald's article. If the Kurds control a large section of the area bordering Turkey, presumably aid could be brought in by that route, unless the Turks were being obstreperous but I do not think they are. In fact, I congratulate the Turkish Government on its excellent, kind and humane response to so many refugees. Ms Jane-Ann McKenna said that it was easier to organise humanitarian aid within government controlled areas. It would seem that a humanitarian corridor might have to pass through areas controlled by many different factions. I hope the Irish troops in Lebanon are safe. Theirs is a remarkable task, and I note that some countries pulled their troops out of the region. I wish our troops every success in keeping the peace in the area between Syria and Israel. It may be necessary to wait for the outcome from Geneva.

Ireland is a small nation but is providing hard cash for aid programmes. Some organisations make the argument that aid from Ireland should go to them in direct funding. Most of our aid goes to the United Nations. The delegates represent NGOs operating in various parts. I ask in what way the organisations complement the work of the United Nations which receives the funding. I opened my e-mails today to see that my spam box contained a request to help Syrian children by donating €45. This e-mail looks very genuine and it comes from UNICEF, apparently. However, the spam notice warned that this was a dangerous piece of Spam in so far as it was aimed at extracting money under false pretences. Is it possible that people are trying to exploit our humanitarian goodwill by mimicking a website? I would love to be told it is not spam but my e-mail box indicates it is so.

I understand that about 50% of the Palestinians in the region are already second generation refugees. Who is handling that element of the crisis? Why would 50% of the Palestinians be dispersed while the other 50% are staying put?