Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that time has been set aside to discuss this issue in the Dáil. We and the rest of the Opposition have called for this.

All Deputies have been unnerved by recent developments in the Golan Heights. We all share real concern for the health and safety of Irish troops stationed there on the UNDOF mission. Irish Defence Forces personnel who have served on UN peacekeeping missions have been a credit to the country through their professional conduct and exceptional work. Sinn Féin is committed to positive Irish neutrality and an independent foreign policy. We believe Ireland should actively work to promote conflict resolution, peaceful democratic settlements and pathways and mechanisms to facilitate self-determination of peoples throughout the world.

Our country's background in conflict resolution means Ireland can draw on many lessons which could be applied to other conflict situations. The State's history of serving in UN blue helmet peacekeeping missions is a matter of pride and enhances our standing as a neutral state. However, sending troops to the UNDOF mission is not a simple or straightforward decision. As we know, UNDOF was set up in 1974 to patrol and monitor the strip between Syria and Israel but it has been increasingly caught up in Syria's civil war, with rebel groups attacking UN bases and kidnapping peacekeepers.

Ireland was asked to provide troops to the mission after Austria announced it was pulling its troops from the mission over security concerns and because the EU failed to renew its arms embargo on Syria. When we debated this issue on 18 July 2013, my colleague, Deputy Seán Crowe, made clear that Sinn Féin felt that the current mandate for UNDOF was not fit for purpose and that EU decisions, coupled with the continued erosion of Irish neutrality by consecutive Governments, robbed Irish troops of their neutrality on this mission. Sinn Féin voted against sending Irish troops on the UNDOF mission after that debate and we stand over that decision. Although Sinn Féin was against this deployment, we recognise that the Government got Dáil approval to deploy these troops, and we have used all opportunities to ensure their safety. That is of paramount concern to everybody in this House.

I know that almost all UN troops in the region are now deployed in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights area, including Irish troops, and that the UN Security Council released a statement last Friday strongly backing and unconditionally supporting the UNDOF mission. The statement also calls on the Secretary General of the UN to provide the Security Council with an update on the "steps necessary to maintain UNDOF's ability to carry out its mandate" within 30 days. Why did the Minister not wait for the publication of that draft report before making the recommendation to Cabinet which has been endorsed? Why did he not get more clarity on the changes that will be put in place and the reassurances that we require before making this decision?

We have breaking news reports today that the US, with the support of some Arab countries, has carried out air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria. This further muddles the complexity of the Syrian war. Many neighbouring countries are supporting rebel and radical Islamist groups in a variety of direct and indirect ways, while symbolically helping the US to bomb ISIS targets supposedly without the approval of the Syrian Government. It has been reported that Islamic State fighters will now flee towards Kurdish areas. Kurdish defence forces have bravely fought off Islamic jihadists since 2012. Kurdish areas have become a haven for refugees fleeing persecution, but they may now be overrun. According to reports, over 60,000 Kurds have fled from ISIS in northern Syria - over the Turkish border - in the last few days. Sinn Féin fully supports the Government's humanitarian support to the vulnerable and impoverished Syrian population and refugees. It would support Government initiatives to increase the humanitarian aid and support supplied by the State. We believe aid should be sent to Kurdish regions in Iraq and Syria. This should be negotiated directly with Kurdish officials. All sides in the Syrian conflict need to begin a negotiated cessation of violence and enter into inclusive peace talks immediately. ISIS is known for its extremist and sectarian beliefs which have been brutally enforced in areas they have conquered, causing massive human rights abuses and executions. Sinn Féin condemns this militant group in the strongest possible way. I will summarise our concerns. The UN Security Council was divided from the beginning of the Syrian conflict. Its inaction allowed the conflict to continue without any resolution process being put in place. This had absolutely devastating consequences. The international community failed in this regard.

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