Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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644. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the funding he has provided to countries neighbouring Syria who have been affected by the conflict; his plans to increase funding to these countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7088/16]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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651. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to report on his efforts to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those most in need in Syria; to stop starvation being used as a weapon of war; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7095/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 644 and 651 together.

Over five years since the start of the conflict, the suffering of the Syrian people has become a defining crisis of this generation. More than 260,000 people have been killed and some 13.5 million people within Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN estimates that over 4.8 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries.

The UN has appealed for over $7.7 billion in 2016 to meet the needs of those affected by this crisis. At the London Pledging Conference on Syria in February 2016, Ireland pledged €20 million in support for the Syria crisis this year, on top of the €42 million in humanitarian assistance which we have already provided since 2012. Ireland’s humanitarian assistance is delivered through UN, Red Cross and NGO partners. Our allocation of funding seeks to balance the needs of those inside Syria, particularly in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, with the needs of those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

We strongly condemn the refusal to allow medical supplies to be included in convoys to besieged areas, the attacks directed against medical facilities, and the deliberate blocking of food aid to civilians, all of which have been used as tactics by the parties to the conflict in this brutal war. There must be legal accountability for victims of the Syrian conflict.

In 2015, Ireland provided €1 million in support to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which played a key role in negotiating the delivery of aid in January 2016 to besieged towns such as Madaya, where many people were on the brink of starvation due to the blocking of aid convoys. Ireland has also provided total support over 2014 and 2015 of €1.25 million to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), which has a unique presence on the ground in many areas which other humanitarian agencies cannot reach.

We are very conscious of the particular strain which this crisis has placed on smaller countries such as Lebanon, where more than one in five residents is now a refugee, and Jordan. Of the €42 million we have provided in humanitarian aid since 2012, over half is flexible funding, which our partners can use in whichever country that has the greatest needs. We have also allocated a total of €4.2 million specifically for Lebanon, €2.5 million specifically for Jordan, and €1.5 million for the response in Turkey since 2012. We have also provided smaller sums to support Syrian refugees in Iraq and Egypt.

In 2016, we are providing funding of €20 million to our UN, Red Cross and NGO partners to address humanitarian need both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. We will keep the situation under close review in the light of developments over the coming months.