Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two points to make. First, on climate finance, we have given a commitment that by 2025, we will be making an annual contribution of €225 million, which was a commitment I gave at COP26. The target is to reach that sum within that timeline. As a country, we have given a commitment. The Government formally took a decision on it. We need to see it realised.

On the broader issue, as the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, referenced, the most effective way to contribute is through UN emergency funding. Ireland is one of the higher contributors to the UN's central emergency response fund. When a disaster happens, we do not see Ireland's name on the fund, because it is the UN emergency fund, but it is the right thing to do. Rather than making declarations and pledges when a disaster happens, it is far better that there be a UN mechanism. We have allocated funding to that mechanism, which facilitates immediate deployment of resources to a disaster area. We also have deployed goods and stocks, including tents and all sorts of equipment, in Dubai and Brindisi in Italy for onward movement to a disaster site, which can be done quickly when required.

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