Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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563. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which victims of the conflict in Syria or other locations throughout the Middle East continue to be displaced; if it has been found possible to put in place supportive humanitarian structures to address the situation. [15693/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The conflict in Syria is entering its fifth year. More than 220,000 people have been killed, and some 7.6 million have been displaced within Syria, with almost 4 million more as refugees in neighbouring countries. This rate of displacement has accelerated over the last year. There are 1.7 million refugees in Turkey, nearly 1.2 million in Lebanon, 628,000 in Jordan and 247,000 in Iraq, with others also in North Africa. This poses a particular strain for Jordan and Lebanon, small countries where refugees are now a huge percentage of the population. Within just seven years, Syria has moved from being the world’s second-largest refugee-hosting country, to being the largest refugee-producing country. Elsewhere in the Middle East, conflict has also driven people from their homes. In Iraq, following the three major ISIS offensives in 2014, the humanitarian situation remains precarious for almost 2.7 million internally displaced Iraqis and over 247,000 Syrian refugees. Some of these Syrian refugees are now suffering secondary displacement, having had to leave the places where they originally sought safety after fleeing Syria. The situation in Yemen is also extremely worrying, with hundreds killed in the current outbreak of fighting. Already, before the current upsurge in violence, there were 15.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 100,000 people have been displaced since the airstrikes began on 26 March, and the fighting there is continuing, prolonging the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent Yemenis.

There are some 5 million Palestine refugees across the region in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip who continue to rely on the UN for basic services. Of particular concern are the estimated 100,000 people who remain internally displaced following the conflict in Gaza last year.

The UN has overall responsibility for coordination of the humanitarian response in such emergencies, and has established Humanitarian Coordinators in all of these situations in order to ensure that international humanitarian aid is directed to those who need it most. Ireland strongly supports the UN in this role.

Ireland has contributed to alleviating the suffering caused in all of these crises. Most notably, in Syria, Irish Aid’s humanitarian assistance will reach €41 million by the end of 2015, by which time we will have fulfilled the pledge made at the UN pledging conference on Syria in Kuwait last month. Ireland has also contributed €500,000 to support the UN’s work in Yemen this year, and provided the same amount last year. In Iraq, Ireland provided over €1 million in support of humanitarian aid in 2014. We provide €4 million annually to UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for providing basic services to Palestine refugees across the region. In addition we have so far provided €1.5 million to the agency for its response to the Gaza crisis.

However, international humanitarian support does not go far enough in providing solutions for those displaced by conflict from their homes. Political solutions are required, in order to ensure that people throughout the Middle East can resume their lives, and build their futures and those of their children in peace and security. With our EU partners and at the UN, Ireland will continue to support all efforts for a peaceful solution to the interlinked conflicts across the region.