Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is specifically why we are working through the United Nations Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund.They are the only people who are accepted in the region by all sides. They are seen as neutral and independent with a humanitarian remit. Anyone else trying to get in there would be counterproductive. This is the group through which we are working.

The €2 million we announced at the weekend is an initial allocation and we want to see what the demand is. We know it is substantial but we want to hear from the agencies on the ground. For example, we have positioned equipment, blankets and other materials, including medical supplies, in Italy and Dubai. At very short notice, as soon as the agencies on the ground tell us precisely what they need, they can be flown over in a matter of hours. We are awaiting full information on this.

I spoke with the chief executive of Concern, who is out there, yesterday. He said that it has some cash resources available because people need to be able to buy food, blankets and medical materials. This is what they need there now. I thank An Post and the agencies that came together to allow people to make donations through their local post offices. These will be used to provide cash directly. Perversely, cash is very important out there in order to buy food and humanitarian aid so that people can survive the next week or two. The time for reconstruction is some way off. People are still dealing with the buildings that have collapsed, and they will be trying to recover as many survivors as possible in the coming days. This is a situation we will be speaking about for days and weeks to come.