Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to a Romani encampment at a toxic dump of mine tailings in northern Kosovo; if Irish diplomats or the Irish peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo will assist in dealing with the threat of lead poisoning from the dump; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44406/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Government is acutely aware of the plight of the Roma in Kosovo, particularly those who were displaced during the conflict, and has supported a broad range of projects targeted at helping this minority group. For the period 2005-2009, Irish Aid has allocated €850,000 towards development work with the Roma community in Kosovo, and a further €200,000 has been provided for the World Bank's Roma Education Fund, which has benefited the Roma community in eleven countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Kosovo.

My Department is concerned about the current position of members of the Roma community who are residing in camps in Northern Mitrovica in Kosovo, particularly reports that residents of these camps are exposed to high levels of lead contamination.

This issue was the subject of a Seanad adjournment debate on 11th November which was answered by my colleague, Minister of State Peter Power, where he outlined the efforts by my Department to raise the issue, including with the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) authorities, the International Civilian Office in Kosovo, and at EU level.

More recently, at a meeting in Kosovo on 1 December between Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, Finance Minister Ahmet Shala, and a senior official from the EU Commission's Directorate General on Enlargement, the issue of the closing of camps and re-locating the occupants was discussed. The Kosovar Government guaranteed that it would make every effort to find a new location for the residents of the camps and would establish arrangements for co-financing this project with other stakeholders.

The matter was raised again by the EU Commission on 2 December at a meeting in Pristina on a Stability Agreement with Kosovo. The Commission promised the support of all EU institutions (EULEX and EUSR) to ensure that this urgent humanitarian crisis is addressed. Ireland fully supports all efforts to re-locate the residents of the camps and will keep in touch with the responsible authorities on this issue, including through our Embassy in Budapest which is now accredited to Kosovo.