Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2015
180. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which aid continues to be made available to refugees arising from the ongoing situation in Syria and other similar locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3252/15]
View answerThe protracted crisis in Syria and the region has resulted in immense humanitarian need. More than 200,000 people have lost their lives, and there are now over 12.2 million people in need of immediate life-saving support within Syria. Due to the violence and the lack of access to aid, 3.8 million people have left Syria for neighbouring countries.
Ireland is one of the most generous contributors to the humanitarian response on a per capita basis. Since 2011, Ireland has provided nearly €29 million in humanitarian support, delivered through UN partners, the Red Cross and Irish NGOs. Ireland’s support has been focused on supporting people displaced within Syria and those across the wider region.
One of the most difficult features of this crisis is that many of those who are most in need are beyond the reach of humanitarian workers. Both the Syrian Government and rebel factions are using siege tactics and heavy weaponry in populated areas. The targeting of humanitarian workers by the group Islamic State (ISIS) means that millions living in the areas which ISIS currently controls do not receive the help they so desperately need. The UN has responded by delivering cross-border aid, even where the Assad regime has withheld permission.
Winter has brought more hardship to Syrians already struggling to find safe shelter and ways to feed, clothe and protect their families from illness and exposure to risk. The United Nations and partners launched a US$206 million winterisation plan in October 2014, targeting 3.3 million people inside Syria. As part of this plan, UN agencies as well as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and NGOs, have in recent months distributed vital assistance to hundreds of thousands of people across Syria. Assistance has also been provided in the fact of difficult winder conditions in Lebanon and, in Jordan, the UN and NGO agencies has begun an emergency cash program to assist 41 000 vulnerable Syrian refugee children in refugee camps.
The humanitarian situation in Iraq remains precarious for the estimated 2 million internally displaced Iraqis and more than 233,625 Syrian refugees. Many areas in Iraq, especially those under the control of ISIS, remain inaccessible for international organisations. This has hampered the monitoring of needs and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable groups. Some five million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Ireland has provided €1,155,000 in humanitarian assistance in response to the recent crisis which escalated in August 2014.
Palestinian refugees continue to suffer profound hardship as a result of the conflict in Syria. Inside Syria, more than 95 per cent of the 480,000 Palestine refugees remaining in the country are in continuous need of humanitarian aid. Additional funds are required for the almost 60,000 Palestine refugees from Syria seeking refuge in Lebanon and Jordan with little access to livelihood opportunities and services
In December, the UN released its 2015 Syria Crisis appeal plans, requesting over $8.4 billion to meet the needs of 18 million people in Syria and across the region. We are now considering how Ireland can best respond to the need for additional assistance in 2015, while remaining mindful of the huge needs of people affected by other humanitarian crises in Africa and elsewhere.
