Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

The Government has been following the humanitarian crisis across the Horn of Africa for many months. At the beginning of 2011, in anticipation of a severe crisis, we pre-approved humanitarian funding of €4 million for UN agencies and NGOs working in the region.

Approximately 12 million people in five countries are now being affected by the most severe food crisis in the world today. To compound the situation, access for aid agencies to much of Somalia – one of the worst affected countries – remains extremely dangerous as a result of the conflict there. Last week, as the situation deteriorated, I approved the release of a further €500,000, to support emergency feeding programmes run by Concern and Trócaire in Somalia and Kenya. My officials, including our embassy in Addis Ababa, are in daily contact with partner agencies across the region to assess the needs on the ground and the possibilities for further Government support.

In addition to humanitarian assistance, Ireland also has major bilateral development programmes with Ethiopia and Uganda, two of the countries most affected by the current crisis. These long-term development programmes are making a vital contribution to the fight against poverty and hunger for some of the poorest communities in Africa. Any diversion of funding from these programmes would undermine the progress being made in health care, education and other basic services.

Provision of clean water and decent sanitation is a central element of our response to emergencies and is also crucial for long-term development. So far this year, Irish Aid has provided more than €1.4 million in direct emergency support for NGOs providing water and sanitation in the region. This includes the construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of boreholes, wells and other vital water points.

Irish Aid also regularly deploys engineers to humanitarian emergencies through the Rapid Response Corps. At present, 155 highly-skilled volunteers are registered with the Corps, 11 of whom are working with humanitarian organisations in the Horn of Africa in response to the current crisis. They include a number of engineers and an expert in water and sanitation programming.

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