Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Business Committee on facilitating these statements. I acknowledge the calls by my colleague, Deputy Griffin, since 2012, for a debate on the situation in Syria. He has raised the matter in the Dáil on at least three occasions, each time seeking a debate.

I add my voice of condemnation to those of my colleagues in regard to the tragedy that has been unfolding for some years in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria. I call for an end to the bombing campaign by various nations, particularly the atrocities being enacted by the Russian state. I commend Government efforts to accommodate refugees from Syria and ask the Minister to expedite their reception so that we can meet our humanitarian targets. I acknowledge the funding of €62 million over the past five years in humanitarian aid to Syria. That provision is a positive statement of support from this country. It is not fair for anybody in Ireland, a neutral state, to suggest that any other country should send troops to Syria, but I acknowledge the need for a cessation of the bombings and atrocities and the need for peacekeepers if and when such a ceasefire takes place. We in Europe were criticised for our response to the Balkan crisis in the 1990s. Today, the destruction of Aleppo is a stain on the world and everything must be done by the United Nations and European Union to secure an end to the conflict.

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