Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 85: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he and officials from his Department, will be attending the ministerial level conference being convened by the UNHCR on 17 and 18 April 2007 on the humanitarian situation in Iraq which will seek commitments from governments to address the situation including more international burden sharing to ease the strain on the current refugee hosting states in particular for those groups most at risk, for example Palestinian refugees in Iraq; and if the Government will lead by example and take up the challenge by providing resettlement opportunities prior to the conference. [10450/07]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am deeply concerned at the continuing deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Iraq and in particular the situation of internally displaced persons, refugees and vulnerable populations. I therefore welcome the decision of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, to hold the international conference in Geneva on 17 April which will address the humanitarian needs of refugees and internally displaced persons inside Iraq and in neighbouring countries. Ireland will be appropriately represented at this important conference.

I was also pleased that a regional conference of Iraq's neighbours, which was held in Baghdad on 10 March, set up a working group to examine the issues relating to Iraqi refugees and displaced persons with the support of the United Nations.

The Government is committed to assisting the vulnerable population in Iraq. In January we made a pledge of €3 million for emergency humanitarian assistance for victims of the conflict. This pledge, which is additional to the €7.9 million already provided by Ireland for humanitarian relief since 2003, is being targeted at agencies working with the growing number of families that have been forced by the violence to flee their homes. In this regard, and in light of the deteriorating situation and the growing number of refugees and internally displaced persons, we made specific support of €500,000 available to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees in late 2006 for its Iraq operations. I am confident that Ireland will be in a position to offer further specific financial support at the forthcoming conference in April.

We are particularly concerned at the plight of the Palestinian population in the current crisis. Ireland continues to be a strong supporter of the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA. UNRWA is the main provider of basic services, including education, health, relief and social services, to more than 4.3 million registered Palestinian refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. This year the Government increased our support to UNRWA by providing it with €3.8 million, an increase of 25% on 2006. Furthermore, we have made a commitment to maintain this increased level of funding for at least three years. This core funding facilitates UNRWA in responding with flexibility to Palestinian needs in the West Bank, Gaza and also in the region, including the needs of Palestinian refugees arriving into Jordan and Syria from Iraq.

Selection of refugees for resettlement in Ireland under the programme refugee scheme is a matter for my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell.

I wish to assure the Deputy that we are determined to do our part to ensure that help is delivered to those most in need in Iraq and neighbouring countries as swiftly as possible.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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In his reply the Minister of State has shown an awareness of the fact that there are Palestinian refugees in Iraq who have been forced to flee, particularly to the Iraq-Syria border, because of the activities of Iraqi security forces and militias. These people are stranded at the border — the last estimate gave a figure of 850 Palestinians — because their homes have been raided, their furniture thrown out and some have been targeted and killed. One raid last week saw 51 Palestinians detained. One was killed and 41 succeeded in fleeing to the border region where they are now stranded.

I welcome the Minister of State's comment that Ireland will be appropriately represented at the conference in April but does he not agree that, welcome though it is, more than financial aid is required? In this instance those representing Ireland at the conference should give, in addition to financial aid, an expression of our support by allowing Ireland to take a substantial number of programme refugees. The Minister of State pointed out that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is responsible in this regard but hopefully he can ask the Minister to ensure that the representative at the conference will pledge to allow a number of programme refugees to come here. We can set the standard for other nations in attendance by reaching out to these stranded people who are being targeted in Iraq.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Regarding the Deputy's view that we should be appropriately and properly represented at these conferences, I am sometimes present at conferences to pledge financial assistance and sometimes not. Sometimes this is merely a matter of tactics as we might be asked informally by other donors, who are trying to raise money at such conferences, to make our pledge in advance, as the French say, pour encourager les autres — to encourage the others to pony up and provide assistance. Our role in these matters can vary depending on the requirement. If there is a perception that a particular fund will be under-subscribed and is not receiving sufficient support, we may pledge in advance because we have a reputation in the area.

We will be appropriately represented at the conference and we are prepared as a country and a Government to respond to any request regarding programme refugees, wherever it comes from. At the moment we accommodate programme status refugees through the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform as it makes decisions in this matter in conjunction with us. We have a standing commitment that was made in 2005 to take approximately 200 refugees annually when requests are forthcoming.

My Department is responsible for assessing people arriving after the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform decides to respond to a request from the international community. Such requests come from the United Nations and other international organisations. A formal request procedure exists and we have not yet, to my knowledge, been subject to a formal request, diplomatic or otherwise, to increase the level above 200 programme status refugees. As in the past, we are prepared to be generous on this subject and I take on board the Deputy's point that this is not simply a matter of making Irish money available. We are prepared to make moral and other commitments to ensure the conflict in the Middle East is brought to an end. This has been the reputation of Irish foreign policy through the years, notwithstanding changes of Government.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Can I take it from the Minister of State's reply that his representatives will attend the conference having secured an agreement with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to go beyond the level of 200 programme status refugees or will the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform be represented directly as part of the Irish team at the conference?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy can take it that we have not received any request regarding taking refugees to Ireland under the programme refugee scheme. If we receive such a request we will respond appropriately, however we have not been asked diplomatically or through the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I am not bluffing; I simply do not know whether the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has received such a request. I imagine it has not as it would have come to our notice had that been the case. To date the Government has not, to my knowledge, received a request in this regard.