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

I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome the commitment of €12 million in aid for 2014. Will the Minister ensure this issue is on the agenda of every meeting of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council? It is the humanitarian issue of our generation. A total of 130,000 people have died in this conflict and approximately 2.3 million are displaced or are refugees in adjoining countries. We should recognise the commitment, effort and assistance that those neighbouring countries have given the people of Syria, in particular Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. There is particular pressure on that region too.

The latest figures I saw show that 9 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. It is frightening to think of that. Millions of people have been displaced internally in Syria as well. Of the 130,000 who have perished in this civil war, more than 12,000 were children under the age of five.

Europe has been one of the better donors. Will the Minister state again at EU level that it is very disappointing to think that only one fifth of the funding the United Nations estimates is needed has been pledged by the international community at the humanitarian pledging conference taking place today?

See this speech in context