David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When we made the pledges at the time, the group of people in most need were Syrians. That is what the European Union asked us to do. We expect the Commission will come to us in the near future, and to other countries as well, seeking pledges regarding some of the countries the Deputy mentioned. That may well happen in the future but at the time the Syrian people who were fleeing in large numbers were in most need. There was a war in Eritrea as well. That was the largest cohort of people in need at the time. Events change, however, and we expect another request from the Commission in the next while to look at other areas.