Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which unilaterally or together with his EU and UN colleagues, the international community can become effectively and positively involved in the ongoing refugee crisis in Syria and Iraq; if consideration has been given or is likely to be given to the establishment of safe havens to provide early relief to those affected by war; his views on whether there will be progress in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18300/17]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Ireland continues to respond to the unprecedented levels of humanitarian need as a result of crises across the Middle East. We have provided a total of €76.5 million in humanitarian assistance for victims of the Syrian conflict since 2012 and a further €5.75 million for Iraq. Furthermore, through our contributions to the EU and to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, Ireland is making a strong contribution to the broader EU and UN humanitarian responses in the region.

The number of people who have been forced to flee their homes as a result of these conflicts continues to grow. When I visited Lebanon and Jordan last month I witnessed for myself the needs of people forced from their homes and the huge pressures being placed on host communities. Ireland will continue to support refugees and host communities with our humanitarian assistance.

At the conference co-chaired by the EU and the UN last week in Brussels, the international community pledged a total of $6 billion for critical humanitarian programmes to assist Syria and the region in 2017. I promised that Ireland would provide at least €25 million this year to support those affected by the Syria crisis.

We will continue to monitor the situation in Syria, Iraq and the wider region closely. Providing safe havens within conflict zones is extremely difficult however, especially where civilian protection is not prioritised. Safe havens require UN mandates and robustly-equipped peacekeeping personnel. Unfortunately, political will is lacking in many conflicts today, including from some on the UN Security Council. However, in other places, the UN is active and there are twice as many UN peacekeepers deployed today as 15 years ago. Ireland continues to play a significant role in peacekeeping missions and we will continue to keep the issue of safe havens in different conflict situations under review.