I will call on the Deputies who tabled questions to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the order in which they submitted their questions to my office.
Private Notice Questions. - Flooding in Mozambique.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the emergency assistance, if any, the Government is providing in view of the serious devastation and loss of life arising from the flooding in Mozambique; the plans, if any, he has to increase Ireland's programme aid to Mozambique in view of the long-term damage likely to have been caused by the floods; the information, if any, his Department has regarding the safety of Irish citizens in Mozambique; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make an urgent statement on the situation in Mozambique.
The Government welcomes this opportunity to update the House as to the current situation in Mozambique. Having made such dramatic progress in their efforts to overcome the civil war that ravaged their country for 17 years, the people of Mozambique are now being subjected to one of the worst natural disasters to hit the region in half a century.
On 4 February, torrential rains began failing on the southern provinces of Mozambique. In just three days, from 4 to 6 February, more rain fell on Maputo than would normally fall in an entire six month rainy season. The heavy rains pushed rivers to their highest levels on record and caused many to burst their banks, flooding the surrounding areas, washing away homes and cutting off access by road to many regions. While the process of gathering information was initially impeded by the lack of access, it was clear that thousands of people had been affected and left homeless. Main road and railway lines were severed, with widespread damage to other infrastructure. On 10 February the Government of Mozambique declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance. Initially the areas worst affected by the heavy rains and resultant flooding were Maputo and Matola cities. However, with the rising water levels in the Limpopo and Save rivers, flooding began to affect much of Maputo, Gaza and lnhambane provinces in the south as well as central portions of Mozambique, leading to a drastic increase in the needs for emergency rescue and relief assistance.
The relief operation quickly got under way. The World Food Programme, in partnership with the Government of Mozambique, initiated a programme of urgent food delivery to people who had lost their homes and crops or been displaced by the flooding. They launched a dedicated air bridge to airlift food and non-food items to those stranded in the flood affected areas of Maputo, Gaza and lnhambane provinces. The Government of Mozambique began setting up collective centres in schools and factories to house the homeless in the cities of Maputo and Matola.
The international community also responded generously with donations coming in from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Spain to name but a few. South Africa, as the regional military and economic power, provided logistical support including military helicopters to help in the rescue effort.
However, just as the relief operation was beginning to make progress, cyclone Eline hit the coast of Mozambique on 21 February aggravating an already critical flood situation. The helicopters that had been being used to airlift food and emergency supplies to populations sheltering in collective centres were now being called into service to rescue the people themselves from the rapid advance of water. We have all seen the horrendous pictures on television of helicopters winching people to safety from roofs and tree tops. It is currently estimated that approximately 300,000 people have been directly affected by the floods with as many as 80,000 people needing to be evacuated. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimate that 70 people are dead or missing. These numbers could rise well beyond this figure. As certain isolated areas remain inaccessible to ground assessment teams these figures are not reliable. The rescue operation is continuing with more aircraft arriving today. The Government has been to the forefront in providing humanitarian aid to the victims of this disaster. We co-ordinated our response with the aid flowing in from other countries and concentrated on meeting the priority needs of the thousands of homeless. Since the flooding began four weeks ago, Ireland has provided £400,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance. This is in addition to the ongoing development assistance we provide to Mozambique as part of our development aid programme.
An initial emergency allocation of £160,000 was made on 21 February in response to the devastation caused by the first lot of flooding. The money was provided to the World Food Programme towards the cost of its air-bridge operation in lnhambane Province. Money was also provided to Concern, one of the Irish agencies operational on the ground in Mozambique, for an emergency relief project in Maputo. These allocations were made following advice from our embassy in Maputo which continues to monitor the crisis. The embassy took the initiative in organising an aerial survey of the province of Inhambane, which had not been assessed prior to this, to investigate reports of flooding throughout the province. Embassy staff were accompanied by the Provincial Governor of lnhambane on this survey.
Following the devastation caused as result of the cyclone, I announced a further package of assistance yesterday amounting to £240,000. Part of this second allocation will go to WFP to assist it further in what has become a rescue operation. We are also funding fuel to allow the South African Air Force to deliver emergency goods by helicopter to the affected areas. Ireland Aid is engaged in a long-term development partnership with Mozambique. The partnership commenced in 1996. Expenditure under this programme was £6.4 million in 1999 and the budget for this year is £7.4 million.
The programme involves support for national programmes, including support for debt relief, and regional development programmes in two provinces. One of the regional development programmes is in lnhambane – one of the provinces most affected by the current emergency. Programme activities to date have helped to develop both infrastructural and institutional capacity. This will have enhanced the capacity of the Mozambican authorities to deal with the current emergency. In addition, Ireland Aid staff in both lnhambane and the national capital, Maputo, are currently working actively with the Mozambican authorities and other donors in planning the response to the current emergency. This morning, our Head of Mission in Maputo, Justin Carroll, travelled to lnhambane, as part of an emergency needs assessment mission. Its advice has ensured that the emergency funding of £400,000 provided to date by the Government, has been allocated to where it can be most effective. This funding is in addition to the programme expenditure of more than £7 million.
From this point, programme expenditure will be administered with maximum flexibility to help Mozambique to deal with the emergency. As soon as the situation has stabilised, priority will be given to reconstruction and recovery activities as well as to the ongoing programme of supporting Mozambique's long-term development. It is important to maintain a long-term focus to ensure we address the fundamental problem and not just its immediate symptoms, which are horrific.
I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. She will no doubt be aware that Mozambique's debt repayments amount to £60 million per annum, according to information I received from Trócaire, whereas its domestic budget provides $20 million for primary health care and $32 million for primary education. While the amount provided by the Government is substantial, it does not go anywhere close to meeting Mozambique's primary needs. Against that background, and notwithstanding the immediacy of the difficulties facing the debt relief operation, will the Minister of State give an assurance to the House that she, along with the Government, will argue for the unilateral cancellation of outstanding debt for the Mozambique republic in a manner similar to that adopted by the international community when Honduras was devastated by natural disaster?
I agree with the Deputy that Mozambique is burdened with a crippling debt and spends more on debt repayments than on education and primary health care. In the past few years Mozambique has had a positive economic performance and an effective debt relief programme. Ireland has bilaterally contributed $5 million to the programme. Following its success, Mozambique and interested donors are preparing the ground for a more general programme of budget support. This is a logical step given the country's positive economic performance.
Following the destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, it was accepted by the international community that no matter how well the country performed economically the scale of the disaster was such that it made the debt unsustainable and, therefore, it could not be repaid. In so far as we are aware of the significance and impact of the disaster in Mozambique, I agree with the Deputy that even if Mozambique's debt is reduced to sustainable levels, it will not be able to repay it. I call for a cancellation of Mozambique's debt. I also support the Jubilee 2000 programme which calls for the cancellation of the debt of the world's least developed countries, such as Mozambique.
Does the Minister of State agree it is easy for us to call on others to do something and that she should bring forward the legislation I have sought which would ensure Ireland would meet its 0.7% of GNP contribution to world aid? If we do so, we can with some authority ask others to take the steps proposed by her.
Does she further agree, given that the Mozambican Government declared a state of emergency on 10 February, that our response 11 days later was quite late? Why has there not been a meeting of EU development Ministers? The Mozambican people need helicopters. There are only five helicopters available to ferry up to 500,000 people. They are clinging to roof tops and hanging off trees and pylons and there have been 70 reported deaths so far. Will the figure reach 70,000 or 100,000 next week? What will the House be told next week? Has the Minister of State taken steps to ask for a meeting of development Ministers tomorrow in Brussels to put pressure on our EU colleagues, EU applicant states and the United States to make available the necessary helicopters to get those people to safety? That is what is required.
I do not accept that there was any delay on the part of our people in Mozambique to respond immediately to the crisis. We were to the fore following the first weekend of storms. The Irish embassy funded an immediate aerial survey by helicopter of the devastated Inhambane Province and it has been to the fore working in concert with international aid agencies to provide relief. There has been no complaints about the swift response of humanitarian agencies in Mozambique. The scale of the flooding, aggravated by the cyclone which hit just as the relief efforts were beginning to make headway, was not foreseen.
The UN has launched another appeal for millions of pounds more in aid and Ireland will respond. The development Ministers will meet but it is not a time for meetings. It is a time for people to work with each other through agreed formulae, as is the case in Inhambane Province.
Meetings helped to bring that about.
Our NGOs, such as GOAL, Trócaire and Concern, are already on the ground in Mozambique and they will put forward proposals to us in the coming days. We are co-operating with the WFP, UNICEF and the South African authorities in fuelling their helicopters. More helicopters arrived today and a concerted effort is being made in regard to this disaster.
My budget of £7.5 million for Mozambique has already been re-directed. Plans are being made and we are in negotiations with the Provincial Governor of Inhambane to redirect funds which we had allocated for long-term development programmes to emergency and post-emergency assistance. We are fortunate in that we can be flexible with that budget to respond in line with the wishes of the Mozambican authorities.
I appreciate the Minister of State's comments and that we are dealing with an emergency. What plans, if any, does the Minister, her Department and Ireland Aid have to augment the number of NGO personnel on the ground to deal with the immediate crisis? Are proposals being contemplated by the Government to facilitate Defence Forces personnel to go to Mozambique to help in what is a major natural catastrophe in the area?
In relation to the increased use of Irish NGOs, we are awaiting proposals from Irish NGOs on the ground in terms of the support they need. We have the funding ready to provide whatever assistance they need. As I understand it, the South African airforce, being the major economic and military force in the region, has taken on the responsibility in terms of the air transport and donor countries, such as Ireland and Great Britain, are funding the fuel for the use of those helicopters. The actual profile is changing by the hour, however, and just before I left the office we had a call from our embassy in Maputo saying that Justin Carroll was on his way to Inhambane to assess the situation there.
As we are long-term partners with the Mozambican authorities, we are liaising closely with the Government of Mozambique. It is a very large country and many of the people are living in isolated areas. It has a fairly small population, given the size of the country, and many people are being moved to areas which are not under water. We anticipate that a major refugee problem will arise, possibly going into South Africa. All these issues are being considered by the international donor community, including Ireland, and I hope to be in a position to come back to the House with further updates should that be necessary.
I understand from NGOs operating on the ground in Mozambique that the immediate need is for helicopters. According to information I received within the last hour, there is one helicopter for each 100,000 persons in need of rescue. If a meeting were to take place tomorrow or within 48 hours of the European Union's development Ministers, it would cause a sense of emergency and urgency, and put pressure on EU member and applicant states and the United States to provide the necessary helicopters to get those people to safety. We have seen the television pictures of women, children and men being winched to safety, in many cases dropping their only possessions from their hands into the flood waters as they are brought out, while thousands of others are stranded. They need helicopters now. Will the Minister of State please ask for an emergency meeting of development Ministers to cause that sense of emergency and urgency in respect of those people?
I have no problem requesting or indeed attending a meeting of development Ministers to discuss this issue but as I understand it, more helicopters have been provided by the South African airforce. What is needed is fuel to keep the operation going and outside donors, such as Ireland and Great Britain, are providing fuel to provide more helicopters and keep them flying around the clock, as they have been for the past three weeks or so. I am sure there will be a meeting of development Ministers to discuss the situation in Mozambique and in other areas of devastation. It is not only Mozambique that has been hit.
I hope that meeting will not be to count the dead.
The Minister, without interruption.
The Minister should seek that meeting.
Please, Deputy Mitchell, I ask you to allow the Minister to speak without interruption.
Mozambique is not the only country affected but it is the worst hit. It is a country with which we have a long-standing government to government bilateral relationship. Other countries have been similarly hit because of the flooding in that area of southern Africa. I have no problem having a meeting of development Ministers but there has been no complaint of the flexibility—
I am not asking the Minister if she has a problem.
Please, Deputy Mitchell.
This is a serious situation. Will the Minister seek such a meeting?
Deputy Mitchell, we must have order in the House.
Will the Minister seek such a meeting?
Deputy Mitchell, if you do not resume your seat I will move on to the Order of Business.
I asked the question three times. Will the Minister seek such a meeting?
Deputy Mitchell, I am asking you to resume your seat.
The Deputy can be assured that the—
I would prefer if the Minister of State did not answer questions that come by way of interruptions.
Thank you very much. I am delighted not to answer it.
On a point of order, I have asked the Minister three times if she will seek a meeting of the development Ministers.
I will call you again, Deputy. I call Deputy Owen.
If there is wholesale holocaust, I will be back in this House and that smirk will be off the Minister of State's face. I come here to ask questions but the Minister does not even bother to read her brief before she comes here.
As Deputy Mitchell said, there are many precedents for development Ministers meeting in emergency session. It is extraordinary that this has not happened since 4 February. Has the Minister of State any reports on when the railway lines will be available to transport necessary food, etc. to the people? Does she have any report on the damage done to the Beira corridor railway line on which millions of dollars was spent over a number of years to bring it up to a useable condition? In a meeting which I hope she will urge her colleagues to hold, will she strongly suggest that every effort should be made to keep the Mozambicans in their own country rather than allow them become refugees and join the massive refugee movement in southern Africa? The conditions for refugees are never the same as they would be if the people remained in their own country. The 80,000 or so people the Minister of State said need to be evacuated should be given assistance in their own homeland rather than moved to some of the neighbouring countries.
Currently all of the effort is to take people from the roofs of houses and other buildings to areas which are not overwhelmed with flood waters. It is difficult to assess when the flood waters are likely to recede. The rainy season in Mozambique usually lasts until March and in addition, the flooding in South Africa and Botswana will more than likely result in further flooding in Mozambique because the excess water drains through Mozambique towards the sea. There is no doubt that in the medium to long-term, there will be enormous problems of rehabilitation and housing.
I have no distinct information as to the state of the railway line but the reports I received just before coming to the House indicate that the situation is dire and that much of Inhambane, and some of the other provinces, are completely submerged in water. Boats are being dropped to allow people to at least move off the tops of houses. Potential outbreaks of cholera, meningitis and malaria remain an ongoing concern, and the sanitary conditions are very bad among the displaced population.
Another problem being experienced, as the Deputy will be aware having visited Mozambique, is that mines have been dislodged. Mozambique is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world following civil war, and many of the mines have been dislodged because of the flood waters. That will cause further difficulties when the waters recede.
I agree with the Deputy that the best possible place for Mozambicans is within their own country and thankfully, because most of the land in Mozambique is owned by the state, people can be moved by the authorities away from flooded areas and allowed to settle in other areas without any undue difficulty. For that reason, and because it is such a huge country with a relatively small population of 18 million people, I would imagine that most people will be able to stay in Mozambique but they will be seriously displaced and in need of rehabilitation and assistance for many years to come.
In view of the fact that I have been informed that there is one helicopter for every 100,000 people in need of rescue, and the need to create a sense of emergency and urgency, can I ask the Minister of State yet again, as I have done four times, if she will contact the Portuguese Presidency and seek an urgent meeting over the next 48 hours of development Ministers to provide as much assistance as possible for these people from EU member and applicant states, the United States and anybody else who can come to their assistance? They need that help urgently.
Yes.
Well done.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.