Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too commend the Government for the amount of aid that it has given to the situation. I am glad to hear that the Minister of State will visit the Lebanon. He will probably be aware that Lebanon has a population of 4.8 million and has over 700,000 registered refugees. It is reckoned Lebanon has another 0.5 million unregistered. There are 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon today - over a quarter of Lebanon's population. Lebanon itself is fairly divided. The last time it had a refugee crisis, as the Minister of State will probably recall, there were 3,500 civilians massacred in Sabra and Shatila because of the tensions that arose because of the refugee numbers.

I would agree also that it must be nearly impossible to ensure that our funding is going to the correct source within the country where whoever is in control in that area is likely to abuse it. In the bordering countries, such as Lebanon, one has a fair better chance of ensuring that the funding is properly spent.

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