Ms Jane-Ann McKenna:

I thank the Chairman and the committee members for the invitation to meet today to discuss the issues raised in the Dóchas 2023 pre-budget submission. Over the last few months, the committee has heard from me, Dóchas members and their partners about the war in Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis affecting people in the region, and the impact on global food prices, which is particularly affecting those in low-income countries. The disruption to food, fuel and fertiliser markets has exacerbated an existing food crisis in the Horn of Africa and in west Africa, which has been driven by conflict, climate shocks and economic pressures. I am joined today in person by Mr. Paul O’Brien, CEO of Plan International Ireland, Ms Mary Van Lieshout, deputy CEO of Goal, Mr. Colm Byrne, humanitarian manager with Oxfam Ireland, and virtually by Oxfam’s regional director for west Africa, Ms Assalama Sidi.

Before I hand over to my colleagues, let me give an overview of why this year’s pre-budget submission and our engagement with the committee today is crucial. Last week Dóchas members held a briefing to sound the alarm on famine in the Horn of Africa. We were heartened to see many Oireachtas colleagues present and engaged. The figures are stark. Some 23 million people are at risk of severe hunger; 350,000 children are at risk of death in the coming months in Somalia alone; and one person dies from hunger every 48 seconds. Equally horrifying is the fact that up to 38 million people are at risk of hunger in West Africa and I am very grateful Ms Sidi can join us today to talk though what is happening in that region.

It is incomprehensible in 2022 that we are in a situation where the risk of famine is a reality for hundreds and thousands of people, especially children. However, the deadly combination of climate change, conflict and the economic impact of Covid-19 has left lives hanging in the balance. The situation is not just affecting those living in traditionally arid landscapes or those in conflict affected communities. Its reach is much greater and far wider. I was briefed by one of our members, Brighter Communities Worldwide, in Kenya last week. Everywhere they work, they are seeing people moving closer and closer to food insecurity daily as a result of fields that were not sown due to the cost of inputs; irregular rains, so the growth is not there; and then rising prices. The price of flour in Kenya has almost trebled in six months and this is not sustainable.

There is action that can be taken however. As a rich nation, Ireland can lead by example both internationally and domestically. As will be illustrated in our submission, our overseas aid programme is not keeping pace with the need or indeed the targets Ireland has committed to. To this end, Dóchas is recommending incremental targets to 0.7% from 2023 to 2030. Increasing Ireland’s investment in overseas development assistance, ODA, in 2023 to meet 0.37% of GNI would put the country on track towards 0.7% and move Ireland into the top ten donors of the OECD development assistance committee, DAC.

We recognise the pressure on budget 2023 and on the Irish people given the impact of the global food crisis, rising inflation and the subsequent cost of living increases. However, we urge that Ireland shows support and solidarity to those in crisis-affected communities, through our commitment to and delivery of overseas development assistance. Research has show that 77% of Irish people believe ODA is vitally important and is a way for Ireland to clearly demonstrate its global solidarity, shared humanity and respect for human rights. It is imperative that we acts urgently on four key areas. These are hunger, climate, conflict and Covid-19. Increasing our investment in these key areas allows Ireland to leverage its knowledge, influence, reputation and expertise on a global stage and to tackle structural and root causes through very practical action.

We are asking the committee members, and all Oireachtas Members, to support our call to action and the recommendations set out in the Dóchas pre-budget submission. We recommend scaling up our ODA investment in 2023 and beyond to meet the commitment to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA by 2030. We ask that we ensure we release flexible multi-year funding to meet the current humanitarian appeals for the Horn of Africa and west Africa regions. We ask that we advocate at the UN Security Council for accountability for those who seek to use starvation as a weapon of war. We ask that we support the scale up of investment in social protection programmes and sustainable livelihoods to protect and strengthen hard-won development gains. We ask that we act to protect World Food Programme supply chains and that we do more to lower CO2 emissions and to support climate adaptation measures. We need political action and we need leadership. Every day of delay exacerbates human suffering, increases the scale of the crisis we are seeing and raises the cost of the response.

I will now hand over to Oxfam’s regional director for west Africa, Ms Assalama Sidi, after which I and my colleagues will welcome committee members' input and any questions they may have.