Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 December 2017
53. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the UN’s record appeal for $22.5 billion to help victims of conflict and humanitarian crises around the world (details supplied); and the way in which his Department will respond to this record appeal. [53149/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the UN’s appeal and the massive humanitarian need that exists in the world today. The pace at with which the need is increasing is very worrying and presents an enormous challenge for the global response.
Ireland’s Overseas Development Aid (ODA) budget has consistently supported responses to humanitarian crises. In 2016, €194 million, more than one quarter of our ODA, was directed to humanitarian responses.
This year, significant humanitarian funding continues to be provided in response to global need, and I would anticipate that by year-end around one quarter of Ireland’s ODA will again have been disbursed in direct response to crisis and conflict. Among the examples of our response this year are €25 million in humanitarian assistance to alleviate the effects on civilians of the conflict in Syria, €11 million for South Sudan, €6 million for Somalia, and €4 million for Yemen.
For 2018, the Government has allocated just over €707 million for ODA, the third consecutive annual increase, and humanitarian funding levels similar to those in 2017 have been provisionally allocated for 2018, including through our EU and UN contributions.
Ireland is also actively engaged in ensuring that the effectiveness of the international humanitarian system is improved, through implementing the commitments of the World Humanitarian Summit and the Grand Bargain, and supporting UN reform. The Grand Bargain is an agreement among 30 donors, including Ireland, to amongst other things deliver an extra US$1 billion in aid by 2020 through improved working practices. In 2018, we will continue to pursue this through, for example, our membership of the UN CERF (Central Emergency Response Fund) Advisory Board and the WFP Executive Board.
However, as well as supporting humanitarian response, we recognise that tackling the factors driving humanitarian need is the only way to ultimately end it. Through our multilateral and bilateral engagements, this Government remains committed to addressing the causes of humanitarian need, in particular through supporting conflict resolution and through our consistent investment in development, in particular but not exclusively in Ireland’s key partner countries.
