Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
424. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to or if he will propose to an organisation (details supplied) that ride-on ride-off ferries currently located in the Black Sea could be converted or seconded to help evacuate civilians and wounded by sea from Mariupol which according to reports is running out of food and water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14748/22]
View answerI am deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, including in Mariupol where civilians are under siege and supplies are running out.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a long and trusted humanitarian partner of Ireland and will receive €5 million as part of the announced €20 million Irish humanitarian aid package to support Ukrainians in-country and in refugee host countries. Irish Aid also provided €10 million in annual core funding to the ICRC last month. My officials are in regular contact with the ICRC, which has an established presence in Ukraine, including in Mariupol, providing life-saving assistance to people on the ground, including civilians seeking safe passage out of the city. As an impartial, independent and neutral organisation, the ICRC engages in dialogue with all parties to conflict and is therefore well-placed to facilitate the evacuation for civilians and wounded, once it is safe to do so.
Ireland is advocating and coordinating at the EU and UN level for safe passage and humanitarian access to be ensured. Satisfactory security guarantees and concrete and specific agreements need to be arranged and implemented if genuine humanitarian corridors are to function effectively, including evacuation of civilians from Mariupol.
