Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We welcome that very strong presentation by Mr. Liam Cunningham and the presentations by Ms Niamh Cooper and Ms Andrea Finnegan. It is more than four and a half years since this conflict started. It has been said here already that there is not an awareness among our community or the international community around the terrible conflict, the loss of life, the malnutrition and the displacement of people. Ms Cooper spoke about the conflict, the hunger, the malnutrition and the displacement of people and the figures she quoted illustrate the huge humanitarian disaster. Some 6.2 million people, which is more than half of the population, is in need of humanitarian assistance. One in three persons is displaced. Two thirds of the population have no access to health services and there is only 16% literacy among women. It demonstrates very vividly for us the huge humanitarian disaster, and unfortunately there is not the public awareness of it that there should be. Public awareness about catastrophes, hunger and famines is important. When there is a crisis or a huge loss of life in different parts of the world that are well covered by the Irish and the international media people will contact us by email, by phone and by writing to us asking what is being done to try to help out in those conflict areas. In the last few weeks, we have had these contacts made about the terrible loss of life in the Palestinian community. All committee members, as Members of the Oireachtas, have received a huge number of emails - we were contacted through other means also - on the need to have the Middle East peace process restored to try to bring some order to the area. Having listened to Mr. Cunningham it is most disappointing that the conflict that has gone on for four and a half years is getting worse. It is frightening. Ms Cooper referred to the lady who, through the cash transfer, is doing so much for her children and has the ambition for them to be educated and to acquire skills and contribute to society. From that perspective, the resilience is clearly evident when one hears about the ambitions of that parent. Ms Cooper also spoke of the need for security for NGOs. Can I take it from her comments that humanitarian assistance is not getting to the most vulnerable people because of the security situation and because of the terrible conditions in which her World Vision colleagues and other NGOs work in that country?