Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The actions of the Russian Federation have entailed a lot of criticism for the Irish Government from the Opposition, which I find extraordinary.

Several Deputies rightly raised the situation in the Horn of Africa. This is extremely serious. The Horn of Africa is experiencing its most severe drought in more than 40 years, which has led to high levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition. As Deputies have said, 36 million people are affected. The number has increased from approximately 19 million that were affected in July. The numbers are staggering and shocking. It is right that Deputies have raised this. It is also right that the Government is providing support and is actively involved in the region. By the end of this year, Ireland will have provided more than €100 million to our humanitarian and development partners in the region. We remain fully committed in that regard. We are providing lifesaving humanitarian aid and longer term development programmes to address food insecurity.

Communities in the region are also supported through multilateral humanitarian action, including the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund. Ireland has already given €11.5 million to this fund.

See this speech in context