Mr. Dominic MacSorley:

I thank the Deputy for her comments. The situation for children is particularly disturbing and challenging. Going back to the last point made by Ms Finnan, it is important to understand that humanitarian agencies are very aware of the context in which they work. We are rigorous in terms of supporting humanitarian principles around impartiality and addressing, regardless of where they come from, people's most basic needs.

The situation for children is devastating. As I mentioned, we had reached 200,000 children that were approaching malnutrition and we are only reaching thousands now. UNICEF has already stated that 621,000 children are facing hunger and potential malnutrition. We can become overwhelmed by these figures and it is important to look at different crises. Prior to the current crisis in Sudan, where we have access and there are resources, and over protracted periods of times where there is predictable funding - Irish Aid is one of the few donors that provides funding over a five-year period - the transformation and ability for communities to change is inspiring.

Conflict drives through all of that-----