Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister and thank him for the comprehensive report he has given to the committee.

I appreciate the update on the Ibrahim Halawa case, an issue I have raised on a number of occasions. I commend the Minister for taking the initiative to meet Egyptian Government representatives and thank our diplomatic staff in Egypt for their ongoing efforts in this regard. I hope we will soon see a satisfactory outcome to the case and that Ibrahim will be back safely with his family in Dublin.

I welcome the positive initiatives being taken on Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the joint declaration of 29 January expressing readiness to pursue the EU reform agenda. It has been referred to as an historical starting point and I hope we will see significant movement towards a stabilisation and association agreement between Bosnia and the European Union.

The situation in Syria is an ongoing source of concern for the committee. Prior to Christmas the Minister wrote an excellent piece for the Irish Independenton the terrorism and violence that threatened Syria and the Middle East, in which he called for an end to the Syrian conflict and a political transition to end President Assad's reign of terror. Is there any indication that a political solution is likely to be found to end this reign of terror? Hopes are being placed in a proposed peace plan, but any potential solution is jeopardised by the fact that the Assad regime continues to barrel bomb innocent people with impunity. The conflict will hit its fourth anniversary on 15 March. Given the number of people who have been displaced, I support Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan's suggestions on Ireland taking in more refugees or doing more in this area. Too many innocent children are being starved or bombed. Are there discussions taking place at EU level on war crimes and the apparent immunity the Assad regime appears to enjoy? What is the United Nations doing to charge some of the people involved with war crimes? Ireland has been generous in the humanitarian aid we have contributed, but reports on the ground indicate that organisations which are trying to deliver aid to the worst affected areas are being prevented from doing so. We need to highlight this problem at every opportunity. Given the numbers displaced and the level of poverty evident on the ground, this must be the worst humanitarian crisis of our times. Politicians need to redouble their efforts at national, European and international level to bring the Syrian conflict to an end at the earliest date. I ask the Minister to comment on the issues of refugees and the delivery aid to the worst affected areas.