Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join in welcoming our guests. I compliment them on the amazing work of their various organisations. It is difficult to visualise the magnitude of what they face every day. The 6.8 million refugees number more than the population of the entire island of Ireland. It is almost impossible to visualise if every one of us needed daily aid. This statistic is coupled with the figure of 100,000 killed. Half of the 6.8 million refugees are children. This illustrates the seriousness of the situation. Our Government is doing its best to help the aid efforts, but it is a drop in the ocean. Like Deputy Crowe, I said that those who are failing to meet their obligations and much larger countries which are not contributing should be named and shamed. We need to increase the pressure on some of those wealthier countries. I am concerned that despite the size of this tragedy it is not getting the international attention a crisis of this magnitude deserves.

There is coverage on television but people have become immune to it, leaving a challenge for organisations like those before us today to keep the matter highlighted.

I cannot rationalise that while there are discussions about loss of life from attacks using chemical weapons, there does not seem to be a diplomatic initiative to enable aid getting to injured people. How is there no urgency in this regard? The bigger conflict will require much diplomatic initiative but why would any government want to prevent aid getting to ill, injured or starving people? Why would even people on opposite sides want to further disadvantage such vulnerable people? Why is our Government and others within the European Union or the wider international community not acting more urgently to try to achieve what the witnesses have described, with more humanitarians actors being accepted by the Syrian Government? Why are people who want to help the injured not allowed in and why are restrictions on deployment of medical aid not being lifted?

Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF, is a key partner of Irish Aid but why has it not accepted aid for operations in Syria? What do the groups want us to do more urgently or could we get direction on any initiatives that could be taken by parliamentarians to keep the pressure on and help these oppressed people? Is there any light at the end of the tunnel or are there any positives on the horizon, as the winter will be severe and difficult?