Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
135. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the allocations and expenditure on humanitarian aid in the years 2017 to date; the purposes for which such funding was allocated and expended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29250/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has a strong history of providing humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable communities across the globe. According to global rankings, Ireland is a top twenty humanitarian donor. We respond to large scale humanitarian crises and emergencies, such as the devastating earthquakes which struck Turkiye and Syria in February, and we seek to maintain attention on less prominent and often protracted crises in places like Yemen, Somalia and Myanmar.
Ireland's humanitarian support is channelled to trusted partners on the ground, including UN Agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross Family. We provide flexible funding to enable our partners to respond to the most pressing needs. These partners are best placed to provide immediate life-saving assistance and to lay the foundations for building the resilience of communities where possible.
In response to a sharp rise in global humanitarian needs, Ireland's humanitarian expenditure has increased substantially in recent years. Humanitarian assistance provided through the Department of Foreign Affairs since 2017 has been as follows:
2017-€181 million
2018-€186 million
2019-€181 million
2020-€192 million
2021-€232 million
2022-over €280 million
The Irish Aid annual reports for the years 2017 to 2021 provide a significant level of detail on programmes and partners funded. The annual report, and final humanitarian aid figure, for 2022 will be published later this year. The 2022 figure reflects the provision of additional funding to respond to the humanitarian impact of the war in Ukraine and the devastating drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.
