Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State and, through her, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a strong response to the issue raised by Deputy Simon Harris and myself. It is important that we record our strong feelings as parliamentarians on this. The Government's response in the House and the evidence Deputy Shortall has given of the actions taken by the Government, particularly by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, is heartening. It is no more than we expect but it is, nevertheless, extremely heartening and encouraging.

Deputy Harris mentioned the clear rebuttal of the Syrian Government's argument that it is not responsible for attacking civilians. Marie Colvin, the journalist who was killed earlier this week, was asked recently on CNN about the Syrian regime's claims that it did not target civilians. She said, "It is a complete and utter lie that they are only going after terrorists. The Syrian army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians".

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