Ms Nicole McHugh:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the committee for shining a spotlight on Sudan, a crisis that we have been watching unfold with horror over the past few years. Ireland can be proud that we ensure we shine a spotlight on those underfunded and forgotten crises. Some 70% to 80% of our funding, which is now approximately €320 million, is for these crises that are less visible and that are not on our screens every day.

In 2023, we ensured that €11.5 million of our allocation went to Sudan and neighbouring countries, given the enormous needs that were there already. In 2024, our funding has reached a high of €14 million. That is dispersed through a range of partners. Mr. Gaffey mentioned our support to Irish NGOs, which are doing an incredible job. I also listened in when their representative appeared before the committee demonstrating how dangerous the situation is for humanitarian workers on the ground. We have not seen as great a disregard for international humanitarian law globally as we have in the past 12 to 24 months. Indeed, in Gaza alone, 280 health workers have perished. I am not sure of the figure in Sudan but it is significant. We are also seeing huge attacks resulting in significant civilian deaths but damage to civilian infrastructure. Very few hospitals are still functioning across Sudan and other crises in which we work.

The Cathaoirleach spoke about flexible funding. This is an area in which Ireland is a leader. We call ourselves leaders in quality funding. Quality funding means that agencies have predictable resources that they can programme in advance. Quality funding is flexible and can pivot to where the needs are greatest. We also ensure that the funding is multiyear so that even in a humanitarian response, we can have some sort of assurance that resilience is being built for communities on the brink. It is difficult in crises such as that in Sudan when access is such an issue. Ireland has really gone the extra mile to call out the lack of access and to point out how unfettered humanitarian access is absolutely at the core of the need to respect international humanitarian law.

Partners that we have supported consistently in Sudan include the United Nations humanitarian fund, which is run by OCHA and has received €5 million in funding from Ireland this year. The beauty of OCHA’s humanitarian fund is that it co-ordinates funding from across the donor landscape and it channels funding to international NGOs and through international NGOs to local actors. We are conscious that it is local actors on the ground closest to communities in hard-to-reach areas who are doing the most important work, especially in a context like Sudan where the access is such a problem.

Mr. Gaffey spoke about the emergency rooms and Siobhan Walsh of GOAL had also referenced them. These are very small community groups, often run by women at the community level who provide incredible support to communities, such as kitchens and childcare, to keep communities functioning. It is difficult for the Irish Government to support those very small community groups directly, so working through the UN and through our international NGO partners has allowed us to do that.

We are also supporting the likes of UNFPA and the International Rescue Committee. This is particularly important given that Sudan is really a protection crisis. We have heard the horrific stories of the treatment of women and girls in Sudan. UNFPA has had access to the whole country to be able to set up safe spaces for women to work on prevention of gender-based violence, support for survivors, dignity kits for women and sexual reproductive health. We ring-fenced some of our funding specifically for UNFPA and the International Rescue Committee to ensure there was this strong focus on women.

Apart from our bilateral support, which encompasses the €12 million, Ireland tends to preposition financing with some of the bigger funds, like the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund. I am currently the chair of the Central Emergency Response Fund advisory group, which advises the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the direction of the fund. This fund has an ambition to reach $1 billion. It is currently unfortunately only at around $500 million. It has two windows, an underfunded emergency window and a rapid-response window, both of which have released significant funding to Sudan this year. What is important about this money is that it is quick, rapid and it works at scale very quickly. With a push of a button, in 24 hours, the funding can reach agencies on the ground.

We are also supporting other core agencies with core funding, like the World Food Programme and WHO, which has indicated that more than 7 million people in Sudan are now at crisis points in terms of health services, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which plays a critical role as guardians of international humanitarian law and also in access negotiations. It has had access to the two warring factions to try to ensure that access is achieved, even small scale, for humanitarian actors. The UN OCHA also plays a key mediation role in terms of access. We provide core funding to the Red Cross family, to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to agencies like the World Food Programme and to others to ensure that the money hits the ground quickly.

Ireland is providing much more than just the bilateral funding. We provide €14 million to the UN CERF on an annual basis and we have core funding to WFP through the Department of agriculture and to WHO through ourselves and the Department of Health.

I will leave it there.