Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can confirm that the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, attended last Monday's meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. He has attended all the Foreign Affairs Council meetings. Syria has always been on the agenda. From an Irish point of view, the Minister has been very forthright in his comments at these meetings. The entire UN, which was created for a world that no longer exists, needs to be able to reflect on what is happening. The situation in Syria is appalling. According to news reports, the war has gone on longer than the lives of many of the young children who are now the victims of chemical attacks. This is absolutely appalling. It has to be condemned unreservedly by right-thinking people. The Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union, on which we are represented by the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, is very forthright in its views. My view is that the UN needs reform to be far more effective in dealing with appalling actions like this.

See this speech in context