Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I believe the Tánaiste is taking Question No. 81 with Questions Nos. 91, 92 and 109 in the names of Deputies Broughan, Howlin and Boyd Barrett.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In order that I am clear, does it mean that I have four times as long as I normally have?

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister will take it anyway.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Yes. The Minister has taken twice as long as he normally does anyway.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Is Question No. 81 in my name included?

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have a long script. Tell me when I have 30 seconds left and I will stop.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Minister promise?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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81. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made to resolve the situation in Yemen; the further efforts being made to address the issue relating to the millions of persons who are at risk of starvation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48015/18]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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91. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he is taking with his EU colleagues to help in bringing the war in Yemen to an immediate end; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47993/18]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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92. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised the war in Yemen and the famine it has caused with the Saudi Arabian Government; if Ireland will condemn the ongoing war there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48124/18]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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109. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has discussed the humanitarian crisis in Yemen with his counterparts in Europe; the actions the European Union plans to take in that regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47968/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to answer Questions Nos. 81, 91, 92, and 109 together.

I have already set out in general terms my views on the situation in Yemen, which is shocking. I share the Deputies' concerns about the dire security and humanitarian situation in Yemen and the urgent need to bring about a political solution for the country. There are direct threats to civilians from the ongoing fighting and credible reports of violations of basic human rights in the course of the conflict. The United Nations has warned of an imminent threat of famine on an appalling scale, with millions of people potentially at risk of starvation, as well as significant public health risks due to the almost complete collapse of the healthcare system.

The challenge of resolving this complex conflict should not be underestimated. The civil war which has been ongoing for almost four years has opened fault lines in Yemen which will be difficult to heal. Historically, the country was divided between north and south, with a larger proportion of the population in the north being Shia and the south being largely Sunni. The two parts of Yemen were united in one state in 1990. The internationally recognised Government of Yemen now controls less than half of the country, while the de factoauthorities, usually referred to as the Houthis, control much of the north and west, where the largest concentrations of people are located, including the capital.

Both parties to the conflict have the support of outside actors, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates among those supporting the internationally recognised government, while Iran is closely connected with the Houthis. Rockets have been fired from Houthi controlled areas into Saudi Arabia, including towards Saudi cities. This has put civilians at risk and I firmly condemn the attacks. There are serious concerns about violations of international humanitarian law on all sides, with indiscriminate attacks endangering civilians, unfortunately, being very common. There are reports of serious human rights abuses on both sides, as well as of obstacles being placed in the way of the effective delivery of humanitarian aid, a matter about which we spoke earlier.

Both at UN level and in EU discussions on the issue, Ireland has sought at all times to stress that military action cannot be a solution. Rebuilding stable and inclusive government and rebuilding links between communities across Yemen will require a painstaking and long process. There are already clear challenges in restoring effective governance in these areas where the government has resumed control. This is particularly worrying in a country where al-Qaeda has had a significant presence for over a decade. A ceasefire will be only the first step, but it is essential.

Even prior to the conflict, Yemen suffered from serious underdevelopment, corruption and drought. This has exacerbated the impact of three years of fighting on the Yemeni people. The war has had a severe impact on the economy and public services. Access for humanitarian aid is a key issue, as is access for commercial goods. However, there are reports that even when food and medicines are available for purchase, the devaluation of the currency and the cessation of much normal economic activity owing to the conflict mean that many families have no resources or income left to buy what they need. As the United Nations and humanitarian agencies report, we now have an acute humanitarian situation, with a cholera outbreak and the real risk of starvation for millions of Yemeni civilians. The United Nations' humanitarian co-ordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, has warned that as many as 13 million civilians are at risk of famine if the fighting continues.

At the Foreign Affairs Council in which I participated in Brussels yesterday EU Ministers discussed the humanitarian situation in Yemen, the difficulties aid agencies faced in attempting to reach those in need and what the European Union could do to help to alleviate the crisis. We are particularly concerned about the recent violence in Hodeidah which is the entry point for an estimated 70% of goods imported into Yemen. Ireland and the European Union strongly support the efforts of the UN envoy Martin Griffiths who is working to bring the parties together for a new round of peace talks which may take place before the end of this month. At the request of the United Nations, Sweden stands ready to host such talks. The United Kingdom which currently leads on the Yemen file at the UN Security Council is also making efforts to bring this about, for which I thank it.

Ireland is doing what it can to address the devastating humanitarian situation and try to help to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. Since 2015, it has provided almost €16.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Yemen. This includes a contribution of €4 million made this year to the UN Yemen Humanitarian Fund which provides assistance in the areas of education, logistics, food security, nutrition and health. Ireland also provides humanitarian support for Yemen through its contributions to EU funds. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2015, the European Union has contributed a total of €438 million to Yemen which includes humanitarian, development, stabilisation and resilience support. On 6 November Commissioner Stylianides announced an additional provision of €90 million in assistance for Yemen, bringing the total this year to €118 million.

5 o’clock

On 6 November, Commissioner Stylianides announced an additional provision of €90 million in assistance to Yemen, bringing the total this year to approximately €118 million.

Ireland is using its leverage in other multilateral fora to focus on the situation in Yemen. At the Human Rights Council in September 2017 Ireland was part of a core group of countries which ensured the establishment of a group of eminent experts on Yemen to investigate alleged violations of human rights and contraventions of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict. In September of this year Ireland worked to ensure the extension of the mandate of the group for another year to allow the group more time to complete their valuable work. I assure the House that we will continue to support all efforts to bring an end to the violence and to alleviate the humanitarian situation.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Collins has an extra 30 seconds because I did not call him at the start – my apologies.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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The conflict in Yemen has taken a disproportionate toll on the civilian population. As the Tánaiste is aware, almost four years of war has resulted in the world's greatest humanitarian crisis. The UN reports that 17.8 million people are currently categorised as food insecure, including 8.4 million who are categorised as severely food insecure. At the same time the country is suffering the worst cholera crisis in modern history. The unrelenting violence in the city port of Hodeida has impacted on the availability of food and essential supplies. Government regulations have hampered all port commercial activities relating to imports.

We welcome and acknowledge the fact that Ireland is doing what it can to try to help alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. I note that since 2015 Ireland has provided almost €16.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen. This includes a contribution of €4 million made to the UN Yemen humanitarian fund this year. We note that since the beginning of the conflict in 2015 the EU has contributed a total of €438.2 million to Yemen. This includes humanitarian development as well as stabilisation and resilience support.

There are multiple actors involved in the war, as the Tánaiste said, each with their agenda. We acknowledge that efforts are being made to broker a ceasefire. Fianna Fáil fully supports the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, in his efforts to bring all sides of the conflict to the negotiating table to work on a political solution. Let us be clear: the impending famine and the starvation being experienced by millions are man-made. In addition, the Yemeni Government is withholding salaries from civil servants, including teachers and health workers, in the Houthi-controlled northern part for two years. Most of the Yemeni population live in the north. State employees are a large proportion of the workforce.

Starvation is being used as a weapon of war. The international community must act urgently to unblock imports and ensure distribution of aid. We must remember that the delivery of humanitarian assistance is a requirement under international law.

Will the Tánaiste update us on efforts to broker a ceasefire in Yemen? We read that Yemen's Houthi militia announced that it was halting drone and missile attacks against the country's Saudi-led military coalition and would consider a broader ceasefire. This is of course welcome and I would like the Tánaiste to expand on the detail. Given the high risk of famine, is the Tánaiste aware of any new plans, financial or otherwise, being considered at EU level to protect the people of Yemen from starvation?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I see from the notes before me that Deputy Wallace has requested a short supplementary question.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I think Deputy Broughan is first.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Sorry, Deputy Broughan is next with a short reply. Do not take advantage of what Deputy Collins has done.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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No, I never do.

I asked the Tánaiste about this previously in September. At the time, the Tánaiste expressed grave and serious concern. He has told us today that the situation is shocking. Some 13 million people are in danger of famine. This number includes hundreds of thousands of children. Perhaps up to 50,000 are dead. Is there something more proactive the Tánaiste can do? I asked the Tánaiste about the use of weapons by the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates collation and the steps that could be taken in that regard. For example, I mentioned the referring of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to the International Criminal Court on foot of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the litany of serious war crimes in Yemen. I note that yesterday Germany issued a travel ban on 18 Saudis who are suspected. The CIA produced a report about the matter recently in which it directly accuses the Crown Prince of bring responsible for the murder. Germany has announced a travel ban on 18 Saudis in the Schengen area. Is that something the Tánaiste will support? It could bring serious pressure to bear on the Saudi authorities to stop this fighting and bring it to an immediate end.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My question is very simple. Why is the Tánaiste not demanding, and why is the EU not imposing, sanctions on Saudi Arabia? The humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in Yemen is due, to a large extent, to the Saudi military intervention, the blockade and the deliberate attempts to starve and bomb the population into submission. Of course, standing behind Saudi in this regard are the United States, France and Germany. They are arming the Saudi regime, a regime whose agents murder a man who is a dissident journalist. They dismembered his body and, if the reports are accurate, they burned the remains of his body with acid to destroy them. This is what we are dealing with. There are 22 of these characters around the corner from this building in the Saudi Embassy. Why are there no sanctions? Why is this not being said? Can we impose sanctions on what is an absolutely rogue barbaric regime that is inflicting the sort of humanitarian horror that we are seeing? The Tánaiste knows the answer to this question. We do not do it because France, the UK and the United States make a great deal of money backing these people. Even worse, geo-politically these countries do not mind what those people do. It suits them to have Saudis do this because Saudi is a reliable ally for western interests in the region. That is the truth. We all know it is the truth. Millions of people are suffering. Will the Government not stand up and say that is the truth of it? Can we not expect the European Union to have a little more moral backbone and do something about it?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I do not agree with the manner in which the Tánaiste presents this war. The Minister described it as the Saudi and UAE administrations backing the internationally recognised government against the Houthi, who are recognised by Iran. The Minister referred to the internationally recognised government there. Hadi was put in place in 2011 as a puppet of the US-Saudi alliance. Unfortunately, this happened with the involvement of the UN. The UN has not covered itself with glory in this area.

Reference has been made to the opposition there. The notion that this is a war against the Houthi only is rubbish. A total of six different groups are involved. The people of Yemen are on the other side. It so happens that the Houthi are one of the groups who garnered arms initially. The notion that Iran is getting arms to the Houthi now is not backed up by any evidence. No one has come up with evidence that Iran is giving weapons to the Houthi. Iran says openly that it supports the Houthi politically. Iran tried to bring medicines and food in a civilian airplane to Yemen. The Saudis did not attack the airplane but they bombed the airport where the airplane was supposed to land to stop the supplies from getting through. Iran has tried to bring medicines and food to the Yemeni, not arms. That is the story that is being peddled all the time. RTÉ cannot mention the Houthi but refer instead to the Iranian-backed rebels. There is no evidence for the claims. This is a Saudi-UAE invasion against the people of Yemen. They are starving the people there to death.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is a great deal of inflammatory language in the House, understandably, because people have genuine concern about this issue. However, it is not helpful for Deputy Boyd Barrett to talk about Saudi citizens who are in an embassy here and who are diplomats. The ambassador, whom I met last week, is from my experience a decent person who is trying to make a coherent case in very difficult circumstances in the context of the Khashoggi murder. I do not think it is either right or accurate to be referring to all Saudi citizens in the way the Deputy has today.

That is the first thing. Second, I agree with some of what Deputy Wallace said. This matter is more complex than it is sometimes portrayed. There are clans and many different sources of power in Yemen. The impact of this war is devastating across those multiple clans. They are being bombed from the air, and many women and children are being killed alongside soldiers. That has to stop. The EU wants to use all of the influence it has to stop this conflict. I attended the meeting yesterday and heard French and British Ministers, among other EU ministers, speaking about how we can put as much pressure as possible on Saudi Arabia to stop military attacks in Yemen. Deputy Boyd Barrett's portrayal of the western world is driven by an ideology, rather than accuracy, unfortunately.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My ideology is informed by arms sales to Saudi Arabia by the western world.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is now the prospect of talks due to the work of a number of actors. The United States has been looking for and demanding a ceasefire in recent weeks and we need to build on that positive momentum. There is a clear signal from the Houthi side that it wants a ceasefire, and a lot of pressure is being put on the Saudi side to facilitate real and substantive talks in Sweden before the end of the year so that we can have a political solution rather than the futility and tragedy that comes from continuing military action. From an Irish perspective, we will support collective EU efforts, and indeed Swedish efforts, to provide the basis for those talks. Even if this ceasefire takes hold a significant international effort will be required to prevent a massive famine in Yemen which will cost a lot of money. The EU must be part of that solution, financially and logistically. We also want to be part of that solution. Our focus is very much on ensuring that these peace talks happen and that the humanitarian assistance required is in place. It will involve a long, expensive and difficult process to help to rebuild a country, politically and in terms of infrastructure and social regeneration. Ireland will be a strong, positive voice on this.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We will move on.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There should be a second round of contributions.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We have got through very few questions, but I will allow 30 seconds for supplementary questions. They will be answered together.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The Minister said that he supports collective EU efforts. Does that include supporting the German foreign minister on the travel ban issued to 18 Saudis? The Minister told us about the implementation of the arms trade treaty in 2014, which sought to stop high grade weapons from being used in a country such as Yemen. Every member of the EU has signed up to that treaty. How does that work in reality, in terms of American and British weapons in Saudi Arabia?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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My comments about the embassy were not directed at Saudi citizens.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy said there were 22 people at the embassy.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There are 22 diplomats, which is a disproportionately high number for a small country. Given what happened in the Saudi consulate in Turkey it is ever so slightly alarming. That was the point I made. We are talking about a rogue state that, as we have seen with the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and with its actions in Yemen, is quite willing to engage in barbaric acts. The elephant in the room is that the UK, France and the United States sell vast amounts of weapons to this regime on an ongoing basis. How can that possibly be acceptable?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The Tánaiste said earlier that Ireland buys into the UN collective decision-making process. However, he has accepted that Germany has made the decision not to sell any more arms to the Saudis, given what is happening in Yemen. Could Ireland take a similar role and stand up and say that we support an embargo on all arm sales to Saudi Arabia while it is involved in the conflict in Yemen? If the Tánaiste is talking to the French and UK ministers, he should point out that their countries are still supplying Saudi Arabia with arms. It is not good enough.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On the issue of arms sales, Ireland does not have an arms industry. Some products are sold in Ireland that have been described as having a duel use, but I am not aware of any sales of products used by the Saudi Arabian military. There was a discussion over lunch yesterday, and a number of ministers spoke about the approaches taken in their countries. Some do not sell arms to countries that are involved in wars while the wars are ongoing. That applies to Saudi Arabia in this case. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Federica Mogherini, made it clear that she was not able to achieve consensus across the EU on an arms embargo because there was no agreement on the issue. Ireland has to focus on areas in which it can have an impact. We have focused on humanitarian assistance and are trying to support a talks process that could lead to a lasting political solution. Hopefully Irish aid agencies and Irish funds can play a part in the long and difficult process of rebuilding Yemen, in time. However, until there is a ceasefire such action will be impossible.