Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The United Nations continues to work hard to negotiate access to besieged areas, as referred to by the Deputy. I acknowledge his role while Minister of State in the past few years. He played an important role in ensuring the provision of humanitarian aid was always top of the political agenda in this country.

I strongly support the efforts of humanitarian aid co-ordinator, Mr. Jacob El Hillo, and Mr. Jan Egeland, the senior adviser to the UN special envoy in Syria with responsibility for humanitarian affairs. I share their profound disappointment that food convoys, including baby food, have been prevented by soldiers of the Assad regime from reaching besieged people. In addition to supporting UN efforts, Ireland provides support for a number of organisations which have played an important role alongside the United Nations in negotiating access for convoys to besieged areas. For example, Ireland provided a total of €1.75 million last year to support the work in Syria of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian-Arab Red Crescent. It also provides significant support through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the World Food Programme, WFP, which has experimented with air drops, notably in the Deir ez-Zor area which is besieged by Daesh. Air drops are, however, slow and resource intensive. It took the WFP six weeks to drop in Deir ez-Zor the volume of food one road convoy could have delivered. That is why we totally condemn, as I am sure every right thinking person in this House and beyond will, an attack by terrorists on a UN food convoy. For all of these reasons, air drops are not the easiest of solutions. Humanitarian organisations continue to seek other ways of gaining access to besieged areas, but I assure the House that Ireland continues to play its part through its NGOs under the leadership of the United Nations to ensure our aid can reach those most in need of help in this tragic situation.

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