Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator for that. Regarding the reports of Russia bombing humanitarian aid - I think it was in the Irish Independent this morning - this is not the first time. It is very clear, and we all recognise, that Vladimir Putin is using hunger as a tool of war. He is attacking medical facilities and energy sources, and I have no doubt he is, quite simply, committing war crimes. We have set up a tribunal in recent days and the Council of Europe will have the honour of ratifying it. Ireland is one of the original movers on this to ensure there is, whenever this bloody conflict ends, accountability, which is really important.

Regarding Ireland's direct support to Ukraine since February 2022, we have contributed approximately €138 million in humanitarian assistance. We committed €100 million more recently, bilaterally, in non-lethal military support to Ukraine. As the Senator will know, in the past couple of years, we have welcomed more than 116,000 Ukrainians under the temporary protection directive and latest estimates, based on PPS numbers are that there are currently 80,000 Ukrainians in the State. It should not be forgotten we did not just give the money in terms of humanitarian aid directly to Ukraine but also to neighbouring countries that are shouldering more of the burden from a humanitarian point of view, most notably Moldova and Poland.

To be frank, it is too early to get a good idea of the impact of aid cuts. I go back to the point I made that the executive order signed by the American president on the supposed USAID cuts is very opaque. A number of aid agencies have been able to get reimbursement for funds, while others simply have but we are in constant contact with the large Irish aid agencies. We acknowledge reports that, unfortunately, one or two of them have let quite a number of staff go. This is not just staff in the field and outside Ireland but also domestic staff. These cuts will impact every developing country in the world. No country is immune to this. Certain aid agencies are less exposed to the reliance on USAID but more are exposed to potential co-operation with the United Kingdom's or Germany's budgets.

Irish Aid works specifically with USAID in two countries: Zambia and Malawi. There is ongoing particular assistance there but other programmes are just as equally at risk.