Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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345. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8498/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland responded rapidly to the devastating earthquake which hit Türkiye and Syria on 6 February. That day, we allocated €2 million in emergency assistance for the people of the region. On 13 February I announced further allocation of €8 million, bringing the total direct Irish response to the earthquake to €10 million.

This response will focus on the provision of cash assistance, emergency non-food items and shelter. Funds will be allocated to our funding partners: the United Nations Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Irish Non-Governmental Organisations working on the ground. The response will also include Ireland’s largest ever deployment of emergency stocks under the Rapid Response Initiative, consisting of blankets, tents, solar lamps, hygiene kits, kitchen sets and emergency shelter kits distributed in coordination with Concern, Goal and local partners.

The primary restriction on the provision of aid in Syria is the restriction imposed by the Assad regime. This predates the earthquake, but was and remains a significant challenge to providing humanitarian assistance.

During Ireland's term on the Security Council from 2021-2022, as co-penholder on the Syria humanitarian file alongside Norway, we led negotiations on the renewal of the vital Syria Humanitarian cross-border resolution. This ensured the provision of life-saving assistance to the 4.1 million people in need in Northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Türkiye-Syria border. In the final days of our term, we worked alongside the incoming penholders, Switzerland and Brazil, to achieve a further extension of the mandate until 10 July 2023.

EU sanctions are targeted and specific, and are developed to minimise any adverse consequences for those not targeted by the measures. In particular, EU sanctions are designed not to impact on civilian populations or humanitarian activity. The EU Syria Sanctions Regime includes a number of exceptions so that humanitarian activity is not impeded.

We acknowledge, however, that sometimes sanctions can have unintended consequences, including on aid delivery. This is often because of derisking, where banks and other service providers take a risk-averse approach, and refuse to do business with organisations operating in contexts where there are sanctions in place. In the final months of our term on the Security Council, Ireland and the US led on the adoption of a resolution to introduce humanitarian exemptions across all UN sanctions regimes. This carve-out provides certainty to humanitarian operators that their activities are exempted from the scope of sanctions, and assurance to service providers that they can facilitate humanitarian action without risk.

Ireland has advocated strongly for the extension of this humanitarian carve-out to the EU Syria Sanctions Regime. It would provide valuable further assurance to legitimate humanitarian operators, and mitigate derisking by banks. This proposal is being progressed quickly at EU Council working group level, and will move to COREPER, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives soon.

We will continue to work with the EU, UN and our trusted partners to ensure the smooth delivery of aid to those affected by the earthquake in Syria.