Vol. 537 No. 5
166 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of occasions on which he or his Department has been briefed by the Irish Red Cross Society on the progress of Red Cross appeals for relief and development in natural disaster or conflict areas of the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16734/01]
The Government greatly values the role played by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – Red Cross family – in the provision of assistance to people affected by conflict, displacement and disaster worldwide. The Red Cross family is made up of the national societies, of which the Irish Red Cross is one, the International Committee of the Red Cross – ICRC – and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – IFRC. The ICRC and the IFRC are two of the partner organizations with which the Government works in responding to emergencies and humanitarian disasters.
Each year the ICRC and IFRC launch their respective annual emergency appeals. Appeals are also launched following sudden onset disasters. These appeals are the normal channels through which Ireland Aid, in liaison with the Irish Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, allocates funding to the Red Cross. As both of these international agencies are based in Geneva, contact is made and maintained through the Irish Mission in Geneva rather than the Irish Red Cross.
Ireland contributed a total of £1,540,000 to the ICRC in 2000 for humanitarian relief and rehabilitation assistance programmes. During the same period, the Department of Defence made a separate, multilateral contribution of £100,000 to the ICRC by way of its annual contribution towards its organisational costs. So far this year, the Government has contributed £750,000 to the ICRC for its appeals in Burundi, Iraq and Sudan. Further assistance for disbursal through the ICRC is anticipated in 2001.
In addition, the IFRC received £444,613 during 2000 for humanitarian emergencies in Belize, Madagascar, Mongolia and Venezuela. To date during 2001, the federation has received a total of £450,000 from the Government in response to the earthquakes which struck El Salvador and India.
As part of its ongoing responses to humanitarian emergencies, the Government will continue to work closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross and its affiliates in the Red Cross family. This reflects the high regard in which they are held by Ireland and other members of the international community and the important role which they fulfil in providing early assistance to vulnerable and suffering people.
