Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Peter Power and Ms Nikita White. I have not sat through a more moving and distressing presentation since I became a member of this committee. I commend them on the work they have done. I saw the RTE programme the other night which has done a good deal to heighten awareness among people of the appalling situation.

The witnesses spoke about the close association people have with the Philippines. Many Filipino nurses work here but there has also been a great tradition of Irish missionaries going to the Philippines. We all know many priests in our dioceses who served in the Philippines over the years and who spoke about how much they enjoyed working with the wonderful people in that country.

It is difficult to comprehend the size of this problem. If we were sitting here, and Deputy O'Sullivan referred to it, and outside this House every building in Dublin was levelled, what response would we be considering? I would not be very critical of the immediate response. In the circumstances the response by the various agencies was good, and in recent days it has improved significantly, but I am very concerned about what will happen a few weeks from now, given the volumes of people who must be cared for.

The witnesses spoke about the infrastructure and providing basic food and water but in terms of the issue of housing and shelter for that number of people, what type of housing was there and what consideration is being given to what might be put in place on a more long-term basis?

It upsets me to think that women and children would be violated as a result of this tragedy. It deflates one's confidence in humanity to think that men would take advantage of the situation to violate vulnerable people. That issue must be addressed. I welcome what the witnesses said about measures being put in place to protect children, and particularly orphans.

The witnesses spoke about national solidarity with the people of the Philippines. Have they anything in mind in that regard? Should we not be talking about international solidarity with the people of the Philippines because while the people of Ireland are generous and will continue to support what is happening, it is obvious that other countries, and probably those much wealthier than ours, are not stepping up to the plate and responding to the extent that the Irish people have done. I welcome the many initiatives announced over the weekend, including the Trócaire collection in every church. I assume that raised a significant amount but I would be concerned this issue will go off the boil very quickly if something else happens in another part of the world.

We are fortunate in that means of communicating with people have improved greatly in recent times. The use of social media should significantly help our efforts to get the word out and also help with fund-raising measures. The witnesses might indicate whether their organisation is using social media to highlight the problems.

The situation in Syria remains serious in that aid is not getting to starving people. I support strongly Deputy Durkan's comments because we are witnessing in Syria the most serious case of human rights abuses in the world. I ask members of the committee to read an article in foreignpolicy.com by Colm Lynch, published in recent days, from which I will quote one or two sentences. He states:

During the past year, the United Nations' chief relief agency has routinely withheld from the public vital details of the Bashar al-Assad regime's systematic campaign to block humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians. This silence has infuriated human rights advocates, who believe that greater public exposure of Assad's actions would increase political pressure on the Syrian government to allow the international community to help hundreds of thousands of ordinary Syrians who are trapped in the line of fire.

Are the witnesses satisfied that the international community, the European Union and our Government are doing enough to help this situation, which is of major significance and is ensuring that large numbers of children and starving people are not getting aid because of the actions of the regime in preventing aid getting to those people?

My colleague, Senator Clune, apologised that she had to leave to go to the Seanad but she asked me to ask the witnesses about the position on refugees from Syria. Do they believe the response from Europe is adequate? We have read a good deal about poor treatment of refugees in Greece and other parts of Europe. Is that perceived as a European response? Should we be doing more to accommodate refugees from Syria in Ireland and in other parts of Europe?