Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree with everything that has been said in terms of Gaza and indeed, Sudan, as mentioned by Deputy Stanton as well as other areas of the world that are experiencing in many respects unprecedented horror and humanitarian need.

She comes here as CEO of Trócaire, as a member of Caritas Internationalis and as part of a Dóchas organisation or submission. I am wondering about the different hats, or is it the same hat with a different colour or emphasis? For example, I am not sure of the Irish Emergency Alliance's relationship with Dóchas, which I believe is doing some of the umbrella work the Irish Emergency Alliance seems to suggest has resulted in a gap in the system. I understand the need for emergency response and the need for it to have a media angle. The witnesses said they met RTÉ and Newstalk. What is the Irish Emergency Alliance doing that the State is not adequately doing? Where is the gap in the system that the Irish Emergency Alliance believes it can meet? Is it that the world has changed? Are the current structures too cumbersome? Is it that the response is not sufficiently communicated to people in the emergency manner the Irish Emergency Alliance would wish?

The speakers have pointed to the great work done by Irish Aid, for example. Irish Aid is channelled through international agencies such as the UN, UNICEF, UNRWA and many other UN bodies. If it is not through that, then it is through many of the European Union offshoots or organisations. There are also the big international bodies such as the International Red Cross. I am wondering where the alliance actually fits in the structure. We said at the outset that reference to the alliance was made in the 2011 programme for Government, which is a long time ago. In fact, most of us were here at that time to see the implementation of that programme for Government, but what happened? Why did it not happen? Why was it not in the 2016 or 2020 programmes for Government? What has happened since to progress matters in the manner the Irish Emergency Alliance would like? It is noted that some Irish-based charities are not yet involved in the organisation. Is that likely to happen? Has the Government indicated it will not act until that happens? I do not understand how a one-stop shop can be established if everybody is not buying into that one shop. We deal with many of the NGOs annually through Irish Aid and Dóchas. My point relates to how a streamlined the Irish Emergency Alliance can meet the emergency need in a way that the other organisations as currently structured are unable to achieve.