Mr. Feilim McLaughlin:

The Irish Aid programme with respect to the Palestinian people is a blend of managing the humanitarian situation on the ground and responding to emergencies. It is also about looking to the long term and trying to build the level of capacity that would be necessary for a viable Palestinian state in the future. That is very much at the centre of the way that we work. There is a strong focus on that whole state-building aspect.

Obviously, a country the size of Ireland cannot do everything. Education is the area on which we have decided to focus for many years. It underlines the important step we attach to a viable Palestinian state and a two-state solution in the longer term. This is combined with support for UNRWA for long-term Palestinian refugees, both in Gaza and elsewhere in the region, with the provision of humanitarian relief. It is a blended approach with that mix of dealing with short-term, immediate ongoing needs, as well as a more long-term focus on state-building.