Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
58. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of an offer by a group (details supplied) which has a team of over 20 highly qualified specialist doctors, licensed and experienced in various medical fields in Dublin, ready to volunteer their services in Gaza; if he has considered this offer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8926/24]
View answer63. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs how Irish medical volunteers might be able to offer their services in Gaza, or to communities of individuals displaced from Gaza, for example in Rafah, Egypt, in light of the worsening humanitarian and health crisis unfolding in Gaza; the steps his Department will take to assist individuals or groups who contact them expressing an intention to do so; what contact points in the Department are suitable for such individuals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9268/24]
View answer64. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the up-to-date position regarding the provision of emergency humanitarian aid in Gaza and the surrounding region (details supplied); if this includes the potential for direct deployment of Irish medical professionals; if this further includes the potential for deploying a humanitarian response that is not initiated through the DG ECHO platform; if this includes assisting and facilitating Irish medical professionals seeking to volunteer in Gaza or the surrounding region; his views on how the HSE Global Health Programme might support the amelioration of the humanitarian and health crisis in Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9269/24]
View answer65. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the person or body that can make a formal request for assistance on the DG ECHO platform; how they would go about it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9270/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 63 to 65, inclusive, together.
Ireland has provided a total of €56 million in support for the Palestinian people since the beginning of 2023. Of this, €40 million has been provided in humanitarian assistance in response to the suffering caused by the conflict in Gaza since last October. This includes €20 million which we are providing in immediate core funding for 2024 for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is mandated to provide life-saving essential services for 5.7 million Palestine refugees. Last year, we provided €18 million to UNRWA.
Other partners we have been supporting include the UN OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territories Humanitarian Fund, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Each of these agencies plays a critical role in the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
Since the start of the conflict, a number of organisations and individuals have contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs to request information or offer assistance in relation to humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The Department currently advises against all travel to the occupied Palestinian territory, with the exception of East Jerusalem, where we advise against all but essential travel. Ireland does not currently maintain military or civilian Emergency Medical Teams for international deployment.
Movement of supplies, equipment and personnel into Gaza continues to be severely constrained. The WHO has established a coordination cell in Cairo for emergency medical teams, which operate, where possible, in Gaza, in extremely dangerous conditions.
The HSE Global Health Programme works internationally with low and middle income countries to strengthen health systems, improve the health of populations and improve health inequalities. Irish Aid funds the Programme to work in partnership with the Governments of Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. However, it is not designed or structured to respond to sudden onset health or humanitarian crises.
The EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is the single co-ordination hub under the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), facilitating a coherent European response during emergencies. In relation to in-kind humanitarian assistance, the ERCC assumes a supporting role, coordinating voluntary contributions from countries participating in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). All EU Member States contribute to the UCPM, and it is used for Government to Government donations of assistance.
