Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress he has made in conjunction with his EU colleagues in relation to building a UN consensus for a negotiated peace settlement in Syria; the steps he has taken to ensure that all States meet their committed financial obligations for humanitarian assistance to the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23488/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The rapidly worsening situation in Syria is a central item on the EU's agenda. The Foreign Affairs Council remains actively engaged in efforts to promote a peaceful resolution and assist the thousands of Syrians who are fleeing the violence. A political solution to the crisis is the only way forward. The United Nations and Arab League joint special envoy, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, has been actively pursuing this objective and emphasising that only concerted action by the UN Security Council will carry sufficient weight to bring both sides to the negotiation table. I therefore warmly welcome the joint announcement on 7 May by Russia and the United States of their agreement to organise an international conference on Syria as a follow-up to the Geneva conference of June 2012. I hope this initiative will enable concrete steps to be taken towards a peaceful settlement and I urge both sides to the conflict to seize this opportunity and enter into genuine negotiations which will map out a way towards political transition in Syria.

The European Union also remains actively engaged in efforts to address the humanitarian situation in and around Syria. Ireland has already made available a total of €5.7 million in humanitarian assistance this year, including €4.7 million committed by the Minister of State, Deputy Joe Costello, at the Kuwait pledging conference in January and a further €1 million which I announced when visiting the Nizip refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border last month. Total Irish assistance to Syria since the start of the crisis amounts to €8.15 million, while the EU overall contribution stands at €600 million. Regrettably, only 58% of the pledges made in Kuwait have so far been honoured. Ireland urges all donors to fulfil the pledges made and deliver on their commitments.

With our EU partners, we will continue our efforts to ensure a peaceful resolution that finally brings about a civil, democratic and pluralist Syria.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Tánaiste's reply. We have discussed this issue on Question Time and at meetings of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade in recent months. As the Tánaiste stated, the situation in Syria is frightening. This is a massive humanitarian issue, with possibly 100,000 people dead. There are 6.8 million people in need of aid, more than 50% of whom are children. In addition, 4.2 million individuals have been internally displaced. The Tánaiste has highlighted this matter in recent months with his colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union and I urge him to continue his efforts in this regard. It is most disappointing that the international community outside Europe has not honoured the pledges made in respect of the provision of humanitarian aid. A few weeks ago, only 20% of the aid that had been either pledged or promised had actually been delivered. I welcome the fact that there has been an increase but obviously this is not sufficient. As the Tánaiste indicated and as matters stand, only 50% of what was promised has been delivered to the region, which is in dire need of additional assistance.

I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste has continued to state that Ireland wishes to see a negotiated settlement. The statements made by US Secretary of State Kerry and the Russian authorities in that regard are welcome. Will the Tánaiste comment on the vote which took place at the UN yesterday and which showed some deviation, in the context of numbers, from a previous vote? There appears to be a level of concern among certain members of the United Nations regarding Islamic infiltration of the opposition grouping in Syria.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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On the humanitarian front, some 58% of the pledges made in Kuwait have been honoured. We want the remainder of those pledges to be honoured. Ireland is in a particularly strong position to ask for them to be honoured because, on a per-capita basis, it is one of the highest contributors to the humanitarian effort relating to this crisis. There is no doubt that it is a crisis. More than 1 million people are in refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon and 4 million overall have been affected by the situation. The latter includes 2 million displaced persons.

Efforts have been made to deal with this issue previously and they have not been as successful as the international community had initially envisaged. I hope last week's meeting involving US Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov will lead to a conference and provide a basis for a settlement. As Deputy Smith stated, there is concern with regard to the composition of the various forces which comprise the Syrian opposition. There is no doubt there is quite a range of such forces and that some extreme elements are involved.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Tánaiste continue to raise at the Foreign Affairs Council the concern that exists in respect of the investigation into the use of chemical weapons by the UN? That investigation has been blocked because Assad's Government has refused to grant an international inspection team unfettered access to the country. I understand the Assad regime wanted certain regions to be excluded and that these are the ones in which it is suspected that alleged chemical weapons attacks - which the rebels and the Government accuse each other of having perpetrated - took place. Will the Tánaiste continue to clearly let it be known at the Foreign Affairs Council that Ireland will oppose the possible ending of the European Union's ban on arms exports to Syria? There has been increasing pressure from some member states to the effect that the Syrian rebels should be armed. I take it that the Irish position will continue to be that we want a negotiated settlement and that we do not see the lifting of the ban on arms sales as a means to achieving such an urgently required settlement?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I can confirm that I will be arguing at the Foreign Affairs Council that there must be a full investigation into the allegations relating to the use of chemical weapons. The European Union has already written to the Secretary General of the United Nations to insist that said investigation must be comprehensive and must contemplate all serious allegations relating to the use of chemical weapons. On 20 March last the Secretary General of the UN agreed to a Syrian request to investigate a specific incident in which the Syrian authorities allege that opposition forces used chemical weapons. The problem which arises is that it has not proved possible, so far, for the Secretary General to agree terms of reference with the Syrian authorities in respect of such an investigation. The position in this regard is both deplorable and unsustainable. The information and allegations which have emerged since 20 March make the opening of that investigation, without delay, all the more urgent.

On the arms embargo, I expect that the Foreign Affairs Council will address the issue of the renewal of the sanctions regime relating to Syria later this month. That regime includes the arms embargo. We have argued that the lifting of the embargo would lead to a further militarisation of the situation in Syria and that this is not desirable. That remains our position. It is important that we achieve agreement on these issues at the Foreign Affairs Council in order that we might maintain a coherent and unified European Union position on the issue.