Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
132. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the financial allocation provided to an organisation (details supplied) in each of the years 2017 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29247/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish Red Cross Society (IRCS) was established in 1939 under the Red Cross Act 1938 (subsequently amended). It is an independent charitable body with full power to manage and administer its own affairs. Its legal objectives are to furnish aid to the sick and wounded, and to provide relief to those in need. The Society has a dual mandate to act nationally and overseas and forms part of the wider International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
The IRCS received €400,000 from the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2017 for a humanitarian programme in Niger. The Department made no further grants to the IRCS until this year, when it was awarded a two-year grant totalling €160,000 under the 2023 Civil Society Fund, for a project to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable and marginalised communities in Nepal.
The IRCS has played a key role in Ireland's response to the Ukraine crisis. It received €42 million in donations from the Irish public in 2022. The IRCS works in partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the people of Ukraine through National Societies in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
As part of Ireland's humanitarian aid programme, the Department of Foreign Affairs provides €2.4 million in core funding annually to the IFRC for their humanitarian work globally. Since 2010 Ireland has provided over €40 million to the IFRC in core funding and in response to emergencies as they happen. Ireland has been invited to be an observer on the IFRC Donor Advisory Group (DAG) in 2023 due to the volume of combined contributions by the Irish Government and Irish Red Cross.
Both the Irish Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross provide regular updates to the Department on their response to humanitarian crises globally. The Irish Red Cross also chairs the humanitarian working group of Irish Humanitarian NGOs which meets biannually with the Department of Foreign Affairs on humanitarian policy and implementation.
