Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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179. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the United Nations crisis conference on Syria which took place on 31 March 2015; whether he is aware that it is over four years since the war started and that the humanitarian crisis is deepening, that the situation in the Yarmouk refugee camp has seriously deteriorated, and that donors committed €3.5 billion to tackle the humanitarian crisis at the conference; and if his Department will commit to this pledge. [15181/15]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The refugee crisis in Syria involves 4 million people, and between 200,000 and 300,000 have died. There are a couple of matters. There was a UN conference on 31 March on the issue. Can the Minister detail whether his Department has pledged money to this appeal and what provisions are in place to ensure that countries that pledge money pay up?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, represented Ireland at the international pledging conference for Syria which was held in Kuwait on 31 March. He announced that in 2015 Ireland would provide a further €12 million in humanitarian assistance for those suffering as a result of the conflict. In total, the international community pledged some €3.5 billion in humanitarian assistance at the conference.

The crisis in Syria and the region has now entered its fifth year. The human impact of the violence and displacement of communities has been devastating. Some 220,000 Syrians have been killed, and almost 4 million have fled as refugees to neighbouring countries.

Ireland has been one of the most generous international contributors to the Syrian humanitarian response on a per capitabasis. Our pledge for 2015 will bring the Government's overall response to €41 million. I recognise that this can only address the humanitarian crisis and that international efforts must be strengthened towards a long-term political solution in Syria and the region.

I remain extremely concerned about the appalling suffering visited upon the Syrian people, and especially by recent reports about the situation of the remaining population of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus.

There are now 18,000 civilians remaining in that camp, including 3,500 children. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, specifically raised Ireland's concerns about the camp with the Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency when they met at the Syria pledging conference. I call on all parties to cease armed activity in the camp and to provide unhindered humanitarian access to those in need.

Deputy Crowe raised the point about how to ensure the various pledges are honoured. Recently, I attended a Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo and I had the opportunity of pledging funds for the reconstruction of Gaza again. Regrettably, the reconstruction work in Gaza did not take place in the manner hoped for at the conference and thereafter. I am calling on our international colleagues to ensure the pledges are complied with. However, this is contingent upon works taking place in the region in the form of house construction and infrastructural developments on an ongoing basis.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister might give me a more detailed written response on the matter at some stage. The Yarmouk camp has been described as hell on earth. Has there been additional funding from the Government for this particular situation? One of the difficulties in the Syrian war relates to people trying to flee Syria. We have seen several occurrences recently of boats sinking in the Mediterranean and so on. The number of drownings is 50 times greater than last year. Does the Minister believe there should be an EU response on the matter? What is the Government's view on the strengthening search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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One of the most difficult features of the crisis in Syria is that many of those who are most in need are beyond the reach of humanitarian workers. Vulnerable groups, such as women and children and the elderly, are particularly affected. Ireland continues to advocate for the full implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on humanitarian access in Syria. Opposition-controlled areas are particularly insecure and volatile and access has continued to decline in Syrian Government-controlled areas. While challenges of an immense nature remain there has been some provision of cross-border relief from Jordan and Turkey. As of the end of March, a total of 91 consignments from Turkey and Jordan were delivered to Syria under UN Security Council resolutions 2165 and 2191. This has had the effect of ensuring 1.5 million people have received food assistance, over 700,000 have received medical or health supplies, over 400,000 were helped with water, sanitation and hygiene support and over 1 million were assisted with essential humanitarian supplies.