Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2015
172. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which international aid promised following the natural disaster in the Philippines has materialised; the countries that have to date honoured such commitment; the counties that have not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3243/15]
View answerTyphoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, made landfall across the central Philippines on 8 November 2013. It is estimated that it affected more than 14 million people, with almost 4 million displaced, including some 1.5 million children. Over 6,000 lives are known to have been lost with more than 28,000 injured and 1000 people missing. No official pledging conference took place in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan but according to the UN’s Financial Tracking Service, as of 19 January 2015, more than US$844 million has been contributed by the international community in response to UN appeals.
Of this total, $468 million was contributed for the Typhoon Haiyan Action Plan by over 80 entities including donor countries, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, multilateral institutions, private companies and individuals.
The European Commission has provided €40 million in humanitarian assistance to help those affected by Haiyan. Together with assistance from EU Member States, the total EU aid in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan amounts to over €180 million.
Ireland was one of the first countries to respond to this natural disaster and our contribution to date stands at over €7.1 million. This includes immediate life-saving emergency response and longer-term recovery and reconstruction support.
An enormous amount has been achieved over the past twelve months. I am pleased that a delegation from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, led by Chairman, Mr Pat Breen, T.D., had the opportunity last November to visit Irish Aid-supported programmes for communities recovering from Typhoon Haiyan in and around Tacloban. The delegation saw at first hand the positive impact that these shelter reconstruction, education and livelihoods programmes are continuing to have on the local communities and in support of the Philippines Government.
We are currently 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, the Middle East and elsewhere.
