Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply and I agree that Ireland makes a solid contribution to alleviating the harsh conditions of refugees through bilateral and multilateral aid. The issue to which the Minister referred is that the European Union on the one side and the UN on the other side seem to be ineffective in dealing with the magnitude of the problem that arises from Syria. I readily agree but nonetheless it is a problem. Also within the eastern countries in Europe itself, an antipathy has built up towards refugees and that is sad coming from people many of whom themselves were refugees in the last century, something which everybody should remember. History has an unfortunate habit of repeating itself. Can anything further be done to focus attention on the UN and EU in bringing about a convergence of views on it?

See this speech in context