Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am interested in hearing what Ireland and the EU are doing to help bring about an end to the conflict in Syria, to stop Assad's aerial bombardment of civilians, to ensure food aid is getting through and to assist refugees fleeing their homes in terror. I also take this opportunity to stress the need for the international community to help address the root causes of the conflict and secure a brighter future for Syrians, without either Assad or ISIS.

ISIS are barbarians intent on imposing by force a particularly regressive form of religious fundamentalism on the people of Iraq and Syria. While the killing of foreign journalists and aid workers has attracted the greatest attention internationally ISIS has been mounting a vicious campaign against innocent Iraqi and Syrian civilians. Countless civilians have been injured or killed, while half of the population have been forced from their homes. In addition, ISIS has kidnapped school children, reportedly to turn the boys into terrorists and the girls into sex slaves. They are committing appalling atrocities and must be stopped. Blindly backing the current Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad is not the solution.

Assad is a tyrant who has used chemical weapons against his own people. His Government and secret police have routinely tortured, imprisoned and killed political opponents and those who speak out against his regime. Now, he is using the fight against ISIS to barrel-bomb innocent civilians. As pointed out by Human Rights Watch, Assad's barrel-bombs are the greatest threat to civilians in Syria. Assad does not use these bombs on the front line between Government troops and ISIS as he is worried, because they are such an indiscriminate weapon, that Syrian soldiers could be killed yet they are routinely unleashed in civilian areas in opposition controlled territory in an attempt to petrify innocent civilians.

If the international community is serious about stopping ISIS it must address the root causes of its rise.

Religious fundamentalism is one cause, but probably a minority one. President Assad's murderous reign is more significant. For some Syrians, ISIS is the only group they see standing up against President Assad. If the international community is serious about delivering justice for the people of Iraq and Syria, it must stop both ISIS and President Assad and support the development of a democratic and legitimate government in Syria. In 2013, President Obama described President Assad as a dictator and said he must step down. Now the US is working with him against ISIS. This short-term approach will not address the underlying causes of the conflict. There is a need for much longer-term thinking and bravery in helping genuine opposition groups in Syria and standing on the side of civilians against both President Assad and ISIS.

I have tabled this debate to ask what the Irish Government is doing to further this aim internationally, particularly through the European Union. The international response to date has been very weak. First it was to criticise President Assad but now, with the rise of ISIS, the US and others are backing President Assad against ISIS. However, there does not seem to be any long-term or intelligent engagement with a view to moving beyond both of these goals. What is the Irish Government doing to address that issue?

I also want to raise the issue of the refugees. The vast majority of refugees who make it out of Syia are living in neighbouring countries but increasingly, thousands are risking their lives, many of them dying on overcrowded boats, paying people traffickers to get them to the EU. They are being abandoned and are drowning at sea because the EU has not been able to come up with a collective approach to accepting its fair share of the refugees. What is the Irish Government doing to address that?