Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. Colleagues have asked a range of questions, many of which I intended to raise. I have only one additional one, which is somewhat complex. I appreciate the diplomacy involved in it. Regarding our response to the refugee crisis, has the Minister had any engagement with colleagues and individual Ministers in the North, given what is happening, to see whether there can be practical co-ordination in our response? Many people I have spoken to in the North are deeply frustrated by the approach of the British Government and the Home Office to the issue of refugees. It is anathema to their instinctive response.

Has that engagement taken place? If it has not is it something that can be considered within the confines of the political realities which I appreciate and understand? There is a lot of goodwill there. As other colleagues have said there are already many delegations travelling over with humanitarian aid from the North. I am sure there would be a great deal of willingness to support this where it can be done. That is something to look at.