Vol. 395 No. 4
15 Mr. Pattison asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give an up-to-date progress report on the situation in regard to Irish aid to relieve famine in Ethiopa; if he is satisfied with these efforts to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
89 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, he has made as President of the Council of Foreign Ministers in convincing the Ethiopian Government to allow food supplies to travel unhindered through the province of Tigre in Northern Ethiopa.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 89 together.
The Government have been following with deep concern the development of the famine situation in Ethiopia following the failure of the crops last year, in particular in Northern Ethiopia. They made allocations totallying £300,000 (three hundred thousand pounds) in November 1989 and in January 1990 a further £50,000 (fifty thousand pounds) was provided towards famine relief. The Government have also contributed to relieving famine through our participation in EC emergency aid schemes.
In addition to the need for food supplies, there is also a problem of access as the worst affected areas of Eritrea and Tigre are in rebel hands. Every opportunity has been used to bring pressure on the Ethiopian Government through contacts with the USSR and through the European Community to allow food access corridors. The Community, under Ireland's Presidency, issued a statement on 23 January deploring attacks on merchant ships in the region due to the risk that such attacks might undermine the international effort to relieve the threat of famine, and reaffirming the Community's determination to assist in relieving suffering and calling on all concerned to facilitate delivery of supplies.
