Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position with regard to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa; the level of assistance being granted by the State towards humanitarian support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19552/06]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the proposals made by Mr. David Andrews, Chairman of the Irish Red Cross, as a result of his recent visit to the drought-stricken regions of East Africa. [19704/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 166 together.

Years of poor rainfall in the countries of the Horn of Africa combined with weak infrastructure, under-development, asset erosion, population growth and widespread dependence on pastoralism have had a cumulative and devastating impact on the people of this region. With highly weakened coping mechanisms, some 15 million people have faced extreme vulnerability to drought, food insecurity and hunger over recent months. Pastoral communities in particular have been particularly seriously affected by the drought and loss of livestock has had a devastating impact on their livelihoods.

In Kenya alone, some five million people have been in receipt of food aid in recent months. In addition, over two and a half million Ethiopians and over two million Somalis were directly affected by water shortages, as well as populations in parts of Burundi, Djibouti and Eritrea.

In recent weeks, the drought hit areas of Ethiopia and Kenya have been receiving adequate and in some cases heavy rains. In some areas, the rain has increased the risk of disease due to flooding, water pollution and lack of sanitation facilities. The humanitarian situation has also been exacerbated, by the heavy rains threatening weakened livestock and making access to people in need extremely difficult. However, pasture and food availability is expected to improve. Some agencies involved in emergency water trucking are already scaling down their operations.

Ireland responded promptly to the crisis and to date has committed emergency humanitarian funding of €7 million to agencies working at both regional and national levels. Of this, over €2 million has been provided to the UN World Food Programme and to the Irish NGOs Concern and Trócaire for emergency programmes specifically in Kenya. Funding of €1.3 million has been provided to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for their regional response and work in Somalia respectively.

Former Minister, Mr. David Andrews, visited the Horn of Africa in his capacity as Chairman of the Irish Red Cross last month. I asked him to provide the Government with a report of the findings of his visit including his assessment of the situation and response in the affected countries. Mr. Andrews encouraged the Government to maintain its focus on the Horn of Africa, including by ensuring that resources continue to be provided to emergency and recovery activities across the region. Mr. Andrews indicated that "while climatic and environmental conditions are major contributory factors [to the situation] ultimately the lack of sustained development investment and the apparent reluctance by governments to effectively engage with these unique communities are the primary reasons for endemic poverty".

I fully support that conclusion. Ireland has an ongoing commitment to assist the people of the Horn of Africa in combating the causes of poverty and food insecurity. Ireland provided over €3 million in funding in 2005 to Non-Governmental Organisations working on longer term development issues in Kenya alone, including Concern, Self-Help Development International, Goal, Trócaire, Oxfam and Concern Universal. Ireland also contributes to the social safety-nets programme in Ethiopia which assists poor communities to withstand the dips into crisis which we have seen affecting the north of that country so far this year. I can assure the Deputies that we continue to keep the situation under close review, including the effect of the most recent floods on vulnerable communities across the region.