Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. There are no easy answers. Nobody can guarantee that there will be no further deaths. As long as people set out on these hazardous voyages, that will be inevitable, in spite of the best efforts of everybody involved in maritime missions. It is a case of working together within the European Union on both cause and effect. The contribution Ireland can make, apart from its support for EU initiatives in the area generally, is primarily humanitarian, with particular reference to Syria. We are one of the highest contributors to the humanitarian response on a per capitabasis. Since 2011 Ireland has provided almost €29 million in humanitarian support delivered through UN partners, the Red Cross and Irish NGOs. Ireland's support has been focused on supporting people displaced within Syria and across the wider region. This includes the regional development and protection programme, under which Ireland is committed to providing €2.5 million through an initiative being co-led by the European Commission and Denmark to support refugees and host communities affected by the ongoing Syrian crisis. Ireland is also one of the countries that provide for the resettlement of refugees, with a commitment to resettle 220 in the next two years. I have met many of them, particularly in Balseskin. A further 114 will be taken in under the Syrian humanitarian assistance programme, SHAP.

See this speech in context