Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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39. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any Irish aid supplies are being sent to Kurdish regions in Syria; and if his attention has been drawn to aid supplies being sent to Syria not reaching Kurdish regions, which they were destined for, due to interference by neighbouring and transit countries. [52251/13]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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43. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will raise at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting the need for the European Union and indeed the international community in general to provide additional and much needed humanitarian assistance for Syria and adjoining areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52416/13]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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44. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total assistance provided to date in 2013 by Irish Aid for humanitarian assistance in Syria and adjoining areas; if it is proposed to provide further assistance before the end of this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52417/13]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 39, 43 and 44 together.

The protracted and tragic crisis in Syria has resulted in unprecedented levels of humanitarian need, requiring a sustained response from the international community. As the number of fatalities rises towards 120,000, including 12, 000 children under five, there are now approximately nine million people who are in need of immediate life-saving support. In addition to more than 6.5 million people who are displaced within Syria, there are currently 2.2 million Syrians who have fled to neighbouring countries.

Ireland has been to the fore in the international efforts to help alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people and is one of the most generous contributors to the humanitarian response on a per capita basis. We have provided more than €14 million in assistance since the crisis began, of which almost €11.4 million was provided in 2013. In addition, Ireland is an important donor to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) which this year has allocated US$82 million to Syria and neighbouring countries. A second pledging conference for Syria and region is due to take place in Kuwait in January 2014 and we are examining the possibility of future Irish assistance.

Irish Aid has channelled our humanitarian aid through key UN and NGO partners, as well as through the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement. These agencies are selected on the basis of their capacity to deliver impartial assistance to large numbers of people, both within Syria and to refugees and host communities in neighbouring countries. Our funding to international organisations remains un-earmarked so that assistance can be targeted where it is most needed, ensuring that it reaches the most vulnerable and marginalised regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation. Irish humanitarian aid is being distributed across Syria. We are in close contact with our humanitarian partners in the field and they have not reported any specific issue related to the interference of neighbouring countries in the delivery of supplies to Kurdish areas in Syria.

We have worked closely with our humanitarian partners to ensure that the necessary systems are in place to monitor and evaluate the use and impact of Ireland’s assistance. We insist that our partners fully adhere to the principles of ‘Good Humanitarian Donorship’, promoting accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in implementing humanitarian action.

It is a particularly regrettable feature of this conflict that, while millions of people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and humanitarian personnel continue unabated, and armed groups on both sides continue to disregard their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. The Government of Ireland has matched its material humanitarian contribution with concrete support to international efforts to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis. We have called clearly for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access. We have called for all parties to the conflict to fully respect international humanitarian law and to refrain from the targeting of civilians.

Ireland has been consistent in its efforts at EU level to ensure the necessary attention is given by the international community to this crisis. Throughout our EU Presidency in the first half of this year, Ireland repeatedly underlined the gravity of the humanitarian situation, including in regular discussion at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. The Council Conclusions on Syria issued following the most recent meeting of the Council, last month, condemned the continuing widespread and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in Syria, including increasing attacks on religious and ethnic communities. The Council further called for the facilitation by all parties of safe, unhindered and immediate access to populations in need of assistance in the entirety of the Syrian territory, including across conflict lines and across borders from neighbouring countries. The Conclusions reaffirmed that only a political solution that results in a united, inclusive and democratic Syria can end the crisis.

The humanitarian crisis in Syria is likely to be on the agenda for this month’s Development Ministers Council and I will be strongly supporting the continuation of the EU’s role as the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. In view of the immense needs in Syria and neighbouring countries hosting Syrian refugees, Ireland will continue to call for increased support to the humanitarian relief effort, both within the EU and more broadly internationally.