Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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We will hear presentations in two sessions today. For the first I welcome the delegation from Syria: His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch, East, Alexandria and Jerusalem; His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch; His Grace Dr. Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, Grand Mufti of Syria; Dr. Ahmad al Khaddour, cardiothoracic surgeon; and Dr. Bashir Mohammad, cardiac surgeon. Syria has become a shadow of itself in the past five years, with the killing and maiming of so many innocent people, the mass migration of its citizens to a very uncertain future and the wanton destruction of vital infrastructure, buildings and many artefacts of great historical importance. Against this background, the joint committee agreed to requests from various interest groups with first-hand experience of these shocking atrocities to make presentations to us. The format of the meeting is that we will hear opening statements and comments which will be followed by a question and answer session with the members of the committee.