John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming before us with what is, unfortunately, a very bleak opening statement. That is no reflection on the Minister of State. It is good to hear him say it as it is. Unfortunately, it is a crisis in the Horn of Africa. I concur with what he says and what all the experts say that we are seeing the consequences of global warming where, for the fourth consecutive year, we have seen the failure of the rainy season. Since 2019 there has been a failure of rain and the consequences of that. It is not only over those four years. Many of those areas have seen their worst droughts in four decades. Concern estimates that one person dies of hunger every 48 seconds. It is a harrowing statistic and that shows people how serious the crisis is. I commend the Government's efforts on the increase in funding. I welcome the extra €30 million going to the Horn of Africa as it is badly needed.

I have some questions. There are serious concerns that the international community is not paying its part in addressing the crisis. The statement released by the World Food Programme today or yesterday appealed for an extra €161 million by the end of the year to avoid total suspension of its work in Chad and Sudan. It has had to cut rations by up to 50%. That affects three in four refugees in East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. These are rations that were not huge to start with that they have had to cut by half. Again, rations have been cut in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger. There is a major crisis but it is being compounded by the international community's failure to step up to its obligation. Will the Minister of State comment on that? We are playing a part. Is there room for us to go further? Does the Minister of State see a failure of the international community on this? There is a major crisis in Ukraine with the illegal invasion by Russia. Concerns were expressed from the outset that the eyes of the international community would shift their focus to Ukraine to the detriment of areas such as the Horn of Africa. There have been some positive things amid what has happened in Ukraine such as the export of grain and other materials from the Black Sea ports which helped to alleviate some of the pressures but many would say the eyes of the international community are still very much focused on Ukraine. That is absolutely understandable and right in many ways but not to the detriment of Africa.

When we talk about conflict and insecurity, we absolutely need to get to the crux of all of these issues and what is happening, but there is an immediate need to get in there to help people. When it comes to conflict and insecurity, Ireland has a key role to play in those situations. We have had very good year on the Security Council. I met the Minister of State in New York when this committee went over there. We sat in on a very insightful discussion and debate within the Security Council on the whole issue of food security. Many of the words struck a chord with me. It is welcome that at this level there is a realisation there is a crisis, but the follow-through is, unfortunately, just not there.

Ireland has a major role to play in conflict resolution. I am not sure if my question is for the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, or if it is more appropriate for the Minister for Defence. Given our role within the UN and particularly on peacekeeping missions, does the Minister of State see a role for Ireland in peacekeeping missions in some of these countries to try to get to the crux of the crisis? While we may not be able to address the sole cause, we could deal with part of the cause of the crisis we see playing out before our very eyes and which leads to one person dying every 48 seconds.