Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt about the sensitivity and truth of the issues the Deputy raises. I refer to war in Syria, the difficulties in Libya, the hundreds of thousands coming through the Horn of Africa from Somalia and other locations in northern Africa, the difficulties encountered in the many camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, and the difficulties in crossing the Mediterranean. I am quite sure the Deputy will join me in understanding what is in our own DNA in terms of humanitarian aid and the extraordinary work done by our Defence Forces personnel in rescuing over 14,000 men, women and children from the waters of the Mediterranean.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine assisted the World Food Programme extensively last year. There was an increase of €10 million given to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for humanitarian aid. This morning, the Government signed off on the Appropriations Bill and agreed all the ceilings, and the changes made in the last period have now been signed off on. I want the Deputy to understand that we remain completely committed to doing what we can as a small country with exhaustible financial resources with which to assist in humanitarian efforts where we can. That is recognised worldwide, as Deputy Howlin well knows. To echo Mark Twain, it seems as if the words of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, have been greatly exaggerated in respect of the third- or fourth-hand report that emanated from a meeting last week.

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