Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The committee visited the Middle East last year. Members visited Jordan and the Zaatari refugee camp on the border with Syria. Most of the political people with whom we met, parliamentarians and the Jordanian Foreign Minister, spoke about what was almost a civil war which most of them were of the opinion would continue for many years - some predicted nine or ten years - that it was unstoppable.

I refer to the influx of refugees into Jordan, Lebanon and other countries. Will this result in a big change in the Middle East in the next ten years? Many of these refugees would like to go back to their homes, just as Palestinians wanted to go back, but it will be impossible for them to do so.

The committee also visited Tehran in January when it met Foreign Minister Zarif and a number of other senior political people, including the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament.

We all asked about the question of Syria, to which Dr. Hashemi has already alluded. Deputy O'Sullivan asked about Iran's role in providing an elite guard to President Assad, the fact that there is support from Hezbollah as well, and the fact that they were excluded from the Geneva talks. I know it is a very sensitive time with the nuclear negotiations, in which a decision may have to be made before the end of this month, but how genuine does Dr. Hashemi think the Iranian gesture towards being part of the solution for Syria is?