Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to provide ongoing support and aid to Pakistan following August 2010 floods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36123/10]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to provide an update on the current situation in Pakistan following recent flooding; and the specific actions the Irish Government has taken to be of assistance [36108/10]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 87 and 126 together.

The scale and magnitude of the ongoing flooding in Pakistan has been immense, with the UN estimating that 21 million people have been affected. To date, more than 1800 people are known to have lost their lives as a result of the tragedy and with flood waters yet to fully subside in many areas and the risk of waterborne diseases, there are fears that this death toll may rise further. In those areas where the flooding has receded, millions of people have been left destitute and dependent on humanitarian aid.

Ireland was one of the first countries to respond to the crisis. I attended a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York on 19 August and pledged €2 million in immediate relief. Since then, the total direct assistance allocated by the Government to the victims of the disaster has risen to nearly €2.6 million, with support provided through the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Programme and UNICEF as well as Concern, Trócaire, Goal and Plan Ireland. I also convened an emergency meeting of Irish-based NGOs responding to the crisis in order to ensure a seamless Irish response and met the Ambassador of Pakistan to Ireland, Mrs Naghmana Hashmi, to discuss Pakistan's needs and how Ireland could best contribute.

Irish Aid also carried out two airlifts of emergency supplies to Pakistan, the second of which was the single largest humanitarian airlift ever undertaken by the State, providing shelter, water and sanitation equipment for 33,000 people. Irish Aid's Rapid Response Corps has been placed on standby, with one member already deployed to work as a logistician with Goal. A member of Dublin Fire Brigade has also been working in Pakistan with the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team.

In addition to this direct response, Ireland is one of the largest overall contributors to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) a funding reservoir which can be drawn upon within hours of a disaster. Ireland has contributed €76m to this fund since 2006.

Ireland will continue to support the ongoing efforts of the Government of Pakistan, the United Nations and NGOs to provide relief to the people of Pakistan as they face into the onset of winter. An international conference on the recovery of Pakistan is due to be held before the end of the year and we will examine further support for the ongoing recovery efforts in the light of the priority needs at that time.