asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make urgent representations to the EEC in response to the appeal by the Ethiopian Government for famine relief; and if he will request the disposal of food surpluses.
455.
Written Answers. - Ethiopian Famine Relief.
447.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the aid the Government have sent to Ethiopia to relieve the famine there.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 447 and 455 together.
We fully support the recent proposal of the European Commission to allocate emergency Community aid in the form of 5,000 tonnes of cereals and 94 tonnes of butteroil to Ethiopia in response to the drought there. The food aid will be distributed through non-governmental organisations which are operating in the affected regions. This is in addition to the 78,000 tonnes of cereals allocated to Ethiopia last year. I understand that the commission are keeping the situation under riview and may provide further aid if the need arises.
On 28 March the Government announced the allocation of £50,000 from the Disaster Relief Fund for the relief of the victims of famine and drought in Ethiopia. The funds have been allocated to the Irish Disaster Appeals Committee which groups together several Irish voluntary organisations which are providing aid to Ethiopia.