Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I call for a debate in the House on Ireland's response to the Syrian crisis and in particular our plans to help the child refugees who are fleeing Syria alone. This issue has been raised by other Members of the House, including by Senator Ray Butler last week. Night after night on television we watch helplessly the heartache of ordinary people. These people are like us and we wonder what we can do. There is something we agreed to do this time last year. Ireland agreed to take 4,000 refugees in the wake of what has been the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. In establishing the Irish refugee protection programme, The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald highlighted the plight of unaccompanied children and she promised that special arrangements would be put in place to help these children.

However, in the year to 19 September, despite the promised special effort, Ireland has only accepted one child according to the Ombudsman for Children. The Irish Timesreported recently that Ireland has agreed to accept a further 20 children by the end of 2016. Over 109 unaccompanied children have applied for asylum in the EU since the beginning of 2015. We can do so much better than helping just 21 children. Given Ireland's painful history with emigration and famine, it is so disappointing that we have not stepped up to the mark.

The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald said in the Dáil last year, "Ireland has always lived up to its international humanitarian obligations" and that the Government is fully committed to playing its part in addressing the current crisis. We need urgent action to live up to this promise, especially for vulnerable children. I would be grateful if the Leader could invite the Minister to the House to lay out her plans as to when we will reach the 4,000 target for refugees and our involvement in measures to support unaccompanied minors across Europe, particularly the children in Calais, and to explain why Ireland has not helped more children. We can, and we must, do so much better than we have to date to help the ordinary citizens and children of Aleppo and Syria who are caught in a living hell.