asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that all the support and goodwill available in Ireland for the relief of famine in Ethiopia and elsewhere is being co-ordinated and accumulated in a proper manner; if he will outline to the Dáil all the details available to him to date on this situation; and if he will make a statement on any other proposals that he and his Government have to assist in alleviating this tragic disaster.
Written Answers. - Ethiopia Famine Relief.
523.
Firstly, I would like to express my gratification at the magnificent response the Irish public are making to the plight of the Ethiopian people. I understand that the amount raised by the voluntary agencies on their behalf is now approximately £7 million. For its part, the Government has already contributed £310,000 for emergency relief activities in Ethiopia, most of which has been used to transport emergency supplies to that country. Further grants for famine relief will be announced before the end of this year.
Both I and the Minister of State at my Department, Jim O'Keeffe, are in constant contact with the voluntary organisations involved in the relief operation to Ethiopia. We have taken an active part in providing back-up support for their activities for example by funding the transport costs for a shipment which left Dublin on 1 December, consisting of 1,500 tons of emergency relief supplies collected by several voluntary organisations. This consisted of 750 tonnes of grain, 140 tonnes of milk powder, 100 tonnes of cement, 100 tonnes of building materials, and several tonnes of other materials such as medical supplies, grinding mills, blankets and high protein foods as well as trucks and other vehicles.
It might be thought that the number of organisations involved in fund raising would entail poor co-ordination of delivery of aid, but this is not the case as there is, in fact, good co-ordination in the field in Ethiopia. For example, Trocaire and GOAL are providing funds and supplies to the Christian Relief and Development Organisation (CRDA) which works in close collaboration with Concern, Christian Aid and other organisations.
At European level, we have sought to use our Presidency of the EC to persuade the Community to increase its aid to the famine stricken regions of Africa. We first raised this question at the Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers in September and we said that, while we appreciated the European contribution thus far, we felt that the Community could do more. As a result of our efforts, the Community allocated an additional 32 MECU (IR£23 million) in emergency aid and an additional 100 tonnes of grain in emergency food aid for Africa in October.
Last month, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe. TD, visited Ethiopia on behalf of Ireland and the European Community, to assess the situation there and report on what needed to be done. On his return, he reported to the Foreign Affairs Council on 26 November and he also made a report to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Co-operation with Developing Countries on 4 December.
The Irish Presidency also raised the famine situation in Africa at the European Council on 3/4 December. As a result of this, the European Council concluded that the Community and its member states should provide a total of 1.2 million tonnes of cereals to Africa between now and the next harvest.
This will undoubtedly go a long way towards meeting the needs of the African countries affected by famine. However, the Irish Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and will take any further action considered necessary including support for the voluntary organisations.