Michael D. Higgins
Ceist:11 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action the Irish Government will be taking during the remaining Dáil session and the recess to address the famine crises in Africa.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers (Resumed). - African Famine Crises.
Mary Flaherty
Ceist:30 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will ensure that additional allocations of grain are made by the EC over and above the 400,000 tonnes already allocated to the famine hit areas of Africa.
Nora Owen
Ceist:33 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give an up-to-date report on how advanced the EC's programme of food aid to Africa is in view of their recent announcement that they were making an immediate 400,000 tonnes of grain available; and whether the EC will increase this amount to 750,000 tonnes, which is the minimum required by June this year to prevent many millions of people dying, particularly in view of the fact that there are 18 million tonnes of grain in intervention stocks in the EC.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 30 and 33 together.
I gave a full account of the Community's response to the famine in Africa in replies to questions on 17 April and 21 May.
As I indicated then, the special programme to provide 400,000 tonnes of grain referred to by Deputy Owen is additional to the normal EC food aid programme. The Council agreed to an increase in the EC's budget of 140 million ECU in order to finance it. The member states also agreed to finance a further quantity of up to 200,000 tonnes of grain. Ireland contributed £325,000 to the latter effort in the shape of payment to Concern and Trócaire for the purchase of food. This is in addition to our contribution through the Community budget of almost £1 million.
The EC special programme is well advanced. Contracts, for the most part, have been negotiated and deliveries are on their way or already supplied. The additional food will ensure that delivery capacity is fully utilised over the next few months. While more food may be needed before the end of the year, the immediate requirement is not for further pledges but to ensure delivery of stocks already available or expected. There are, for example, berthing difficulties in Ethiopia's ports which the international agencies are taking urgent action to alleviate. In Mauritania there is a danger of blocking the port with too much food arriving at the same time. In Sudan there is good movement of food out of Port Sudan but serious difficulties exist as regards delivery of food to the interior because of low capacity on the roads and shortage of transport. Delicate negotiations are taking place under the auspices of UN and EC agencies about alternative means of reaching some of the most vulnerable and inaccessible people.
In so far as Ireland's bilateral assistance is concerned, we have given in the region of £1.5 million from the disaster relief fund towards the present emergency, £0.85 million in 1990 and £0.71 million this year. A further contribution of £250,000 is being provided for food purchases in Sudan through the World Food Programme in the context of our aid for countries most affected by the Gulf crisis.
The Community has already done a great deal. It has pledged to donate over 1.5 million tonnes of food. I hope that other donors will make an additional effort to provide needed supplies later in the year. The Commission is monitoring the situation and I shall also keep under review the need for any further action, including the use, if suitable, of grain from intervention. The products to be supplied as food aid are determined by the needs of the recipients rather than by what is in surplus in intervention. In so far as some of these products may be suitable for programmed or long-term food aid, I am in favour of their use. The Community already supplies many food aid needs in this way. I should state, however, that food from intervention or elsewhere in Europe may not be suitable for emergency needs where speedy delivery is crucial.
First, I rose previously, a Cheann Comhairle, on a point of order and I am very happy to accept that your office did make an attempt this morning to communicate with me concerning my question and that the impression that the situation in Nicaragua has not changed is one that is held by the Department of Foreign Affairs and not your office. I welcome the potential use of grain from intervention but I would like the Minister to answer directly one simple question. Given that my question raises the famine in Africa, what is the Irish Government's attitude towards the international debt dimension of the African famine crisis? Given that the debt of those countries, where 29.9 million people are threatened with starvation, is $162 billion, what is the Irish Government's attitude towards that debt, having regard to the fact that the interest payments in the affected countries have in each year for the last five years accumulatively exceeded aid, including aid from the Community which the Minister has referred to?
I agree with the Deputy that the debt of these countries is a major contributory factor to the difficulties which exist and which we are talking about at present. It is certainly one of the elements and it is a matter which has to be taken into account. The European Community, of which we are a full member, is involved in discussions with the World Bank and other international agencies to see how they can help. The Commission will be present at the meeting of the G7 which will take place within a matter of days in London. The Commission will be involved, through the President, Mr. Jacques Delors, in these discussions with the membership of the G7 to see if positive help can be given to make the debt more manageable than it is.
Are the Government in favour of an international conference on the debt and, given that interest payments are greater than the total sum of aid, will it be suggested by Ireland at the next meeting at which Foreign Ministers of the European Community discuss this matter, that there be a moratorium on debt repayments for a period of years?
Again, the Deputy is correct in that there will be further discussions shortly on the issue when we receive a report from the Commission on the talks which will take place in London in a matter of weeks. At that stage we will assess the situation to see how best we can be of help in tackling the difficulty which exists.
I can ask again in November.