Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his explanation of what he is doing and what we, as a country, are doing. I remember when the first Irish troops went to Africa in 1960 and I took my then girlfriend - now my wife of over 50 years - out to Baldonnel Airport to see the troops leaving. There was an enormous sense of pride in Ireland that we were, as a nation, taking a role in helping in Africa. Her father, who was an army officer, was with us on that occasion and the whole nation focused its attention on that mission. To sit here, more than 50 years later and hear about the work the Minister of State, his Department and we, as a nation, are doing, is so interesting. The outline provided by the Minister of State is a real reminder of the need for us to continue to play our part. The situations outlined are very concerning and I commend the Department and particularly Irish Aid on the work they are doing and the assistance they are giving.

The Danish Foreign Minister recently describe Syria as "the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the millennium". We must bear that in mind in the course of this debate. We all hope that the peace conference will bring an end to the bloodshed and its devastating effect on civilians. However, as the Minister of State has said, success is not guaranteed. There has been some small relief in the deal to allow women and children to leave the city of Homs.

In terms of Irish involvement, I would like to mention Irish troops serving with the United Nations mission in Syria, on the Golan Heights, who were forced to return fire in November. There has been a total lack of debate on this issue and the only one to speak up has been a former army officer, Mr. Tom Clonan, who said that Irish troops are "human shields" on the Golan Heights, as they were on other peacekeeping missions. They are in the middle, between Syria and Israel, and it seems strange that the Irish troops are in more danger from the different Syrian factions than the Israeli troops. If some big incident were to happen involving the Irish troops, we will be debating why it happened in this House. We will have to admit then that there was no debate in Irish political circles or in the media on what was really behind the deployment or whether it was the right thing to do. I would welcome such a debate. We should be able to talk about it because these things should not happen without Parliament and the Oireachtas having a say. I know one Irish army officer who believes the move was madness. He is very unhappy at the way in which the army, he believes, was used by certain countries for their own ends. I am not commenting on that belief either way but if his feeling is shared by others in the Irish Army, then that is worrying.

As is clear from television coverage of the situation in the Central African Republic, the humanitarian crisis there is huge. The Minister of State described the situation there very well. The EU has raised almost $500 billion in aid but the situation seems to be getting worse. I am thankful for the update from the Minister of State on the humanitarian situation but have we completely ruled out sending troops to help as part of the EU mission? Senator Walsh said that there are 500 troops from Europe in the Central African Republic but perhaps we should get involved in a deeper way there. The situation in South Sudan has escalated to such a degree that many international aid staff have been evacuated. That makes it extremely difficult to ensure that aid gets to the right people. It is also very worrying to hear about the use of child soldiers there. It is horrifying but it appears to be going on there.

On humanitarian issues in a more general sense, I wish to touch on the situation in the Ukraine, although it is not our agenda for today's discussion. Last week the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt, was the first EU Foreign Minister to comment on possible sanctions against the Ukraine, saying that he would not exclude that particular possibility as part of a solution to the crisis. Does Ireland have any policy on this issue? Can we play any part in helping to resolve the situation in the Ukraine through diplomatic channels? I know it is not on the agenda today but the Ukraine is much closer to us than some of the other countries we are discussing. The situation there is also of major concern to the European Union. I do not know what is going to happen and am not sure if we will be able to do anything. However, the fact that the Minister of State takes such an interest in his role gives me some solace and reassures me that if we can do something, we will. We are highly regarded as an independent, neutral nation and can achieve things that other, larger nations might not be able to achieve. I congratulate the Minister of State on his work and thank him for his address to the House today.