Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise once again in this House the very important issue of the very desperate situation in Syria. I have raised the matter in Topical Issue debates on a number of occasions. This is the first opportunity I have had in this House to congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Donohoe, on his appointment and wish him every success in his important work as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs.

Everyone in this House will welcome the fact that Syria is about to become the 190th state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, thanks to a US and Russia-brokered deal. This convention bans the acquisition and use of chemical weapons and requires state parties to destroy existing stocks and production facilities on joining. This is a significant development given the recent deadly chemical weapons attack on Ghouta, a rebel-held Damascus suburb on 21 August. The return of a team of UN chemical weapons inspectors today to the Syrian capital of Damascus to complete their investigation into "pending credible allegations" of chemical weapons use in Syria's civil war is also to be welcomed.

It appears as though some parties are beginning to engage in constructive dialogue to stop what has been an international tragedy, resulting in the death of more than 100,000 Syrians. Some 2.5 million Syrians have been displaced from their own country and more than 4 million are displaced within their own country. Unfortunately, it is the humanitarian issue of this generation.

The situation remains very precarious. The fact that several Syrian rebel groups, including a powerful al-Qaeda-linked faction, said today that they reject the authority of the western-backed opposition coalition shows that a stable and settled peace is still far from secure. Further international engagement is, therefore, vital. Any progress that has been made must be consolidated by increasing pressure from international powers, including the European Union and the United Nations, whose Security Council has, to date, been totally ineffective in dealing with this issue. The lack of a coherent strategy coming from Brussels on this issue is disappointing and shows that despite many EU institutional changes, increased competencies and, indeed, increased staff in recent years in the European External Action Service, we still find ourselves searching for common cause when it comes to our approach for foreign affairs.

I very much welcome the Tánaiste's announcement today that Ireland will help to facilitate the destruction of chemical weapons from Syria through the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. This commitment is reflective of our long-standing opposition to the use of weapons of mass destruction. I have raised this matter to seek further clarification as to how this commitment will work in practice. Under what budget will this funding come from in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? What commitments have been received from our international partners in regard to their participation in and support for this very worthy endeavour?

I put on record my concern that it appears it is the international community which will have to shoulder the full cost of these measures and that the Syrian regime will have to pay nothing towards the destruction of these weapons. Will Minister of State clarify this point or come back to me subsequently on it? Was the Syrian regime approached to fund the destruction of these weapons at all?

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