Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on recent comments by a chemical weapons monitor for Syria regarding the urgent need to implement a no-fly zone (details supplied) in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33379/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Any decision on the possible establishment of a no-fly zone in Syria is a matter which falls to the UN Security Council. Ireland has consistently supported greater engagement by the Security Council on tackling the crisis in Syria and co-sponsored a recent resolution on referral of the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court earlier this year. Regrettably, the Security Council has in recent years repeatedly failed to agree on effective measures to tackle the political and security situation in Syria, with the repeated vetoes on proposed action by permanent members of the Council. There is little prospect that any proposal for such a resolution will be approved by the Council at this time. I have expressed on many occasions my deep concerns and frustration at the blockages in the Security Council. I am actively supporting efforts to reform the Council to improve its effectiveness. In the meantime, I am backing, as a step in the right direction, a French initiative for a code of conduct which would suspend the use of the veto in situations of mass atrocities.