Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 115: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he or his Department directly, or through the aegis of the EU or UN, have managed to monitor or influence the situation in the Horn of Africa with particular reference to addressing the issues of starvation, conflict and human rights abuse; the efforts made to date to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27596/11]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The humanitarian situation across the Horn of Africa is worsening, with over 13 million people now affected by drought and food shortages in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The situation is at its worst in Somalia, where the United Nations has warned that 750,000 are at imminent risk of starvation and where ongoing conflict and access issues have greatly exacerbated the challenge of reaching those most in need.

The Government has been following and responding to the increasingly dire situation across the region for many months and has already provided over €10 million in emergency assistance. On a per capita basis, Ireland's contribution is one of the most significant responses to the crisis. Our funding has been used directly by the UN, the Red Cross and NGOs such as Concern and Trócaire, to provide vital food supplies, shelter, healthcare and clean water to many thousands of people. In addition, at a United Nations Ministerial Summit on the Horn of Africa in New York last week, the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore T.D., pledged a further €10 million in humanitarian assistance in 2011 and 2012.

Many other donors, including the European Commission and a number of EU and other countries have also contributed significantly to the response, with pledges to date reaching $1.8 billion to the end of 2011. Nevertheless, the UN has warned that the relief operation requires a further $700 million this year if all of the needs in the region are to be met. There is therefore an onus on national governments, including those which are not traditional aid donors, as well as the private sector, to step up their assistance.

Beyond the provision of immediate relief, it is clear that the dire situation across much of the region will require sustained political engagement by the international community over the months and years to come. The effects of the famine have been exacerbated by the absence of effective governance in the country since 1991. The UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) faces enormous challenges, not least the fact that it controls little of the country's territory and that significant armed groups remain opposed to its authority. This has considerably hampered the ability of aid agencies to access many of those most in need. Ireland and our EU partners strongly support the UN-facilitated Djibouti peace and reconciliation process, and welcomed the recent adoption of a Roadmap for Ending the Transition in Somalia. We hope to see rapid progress toward achieving a representative and effective Government.

The issue of coordination amongst international actors is critical and was a recurring theme at the recent mini-summit in New York. Ireland has already been instrumental in pushing for a more intensive and coordinated response to this crisis and I used the recent meeting of EU Development Ministers in Sopot in Poland to call on the EU to respond quickly and generously. The Government also supports measures which would strengthen the capacity of the EU and the UN to engage at a political level in Somalia and the wider region and remains actively engaged on these issues at official level in Brussels, Geneva and New York. I can assure the Deputy that we will continue to call on the international community to increase its efforts in the period ahead.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which overseas development workers can expect protection while working in the Horn of Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27597/11]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Studies by the United Nations have shown that the last ten years have represented one of the worst decades ever in terms of attacks on humanitarian workers. The situation varies considerably from country to country however and within the Horn of Africa, aid workers can generally go about their business in a protected and unhindered manner across much of the region.

The clear exception to this situation is to be found in Somalia, where after two decades of conflict, the country is now one of the most difficult and dangerous environments for aid workers anywhere in the world. The security situation is such that access to many areas has been significantly affected, a scenario compounded by the decision by the 2009 decision by the Al Shabaab militant group to ban the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and several other Western aid agencies from regions of the country under its control. While access within Mogadishu has now improved following Al Shabaab's decision to withdraw from the city, the highly insecure and volatile security situation in many other parts of southern Somalia continue to hamper relief efforts. Humanitarian agencies operating in these regions generally do so through local partners or counterparts given the level of risk to expatriate staff.

The safety and well-being of humanitarian personnel is a priority for the Government. Ireland is a strong advocate at international level for the full respect for the core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, and impartiality – principles which ultimately underpin acceptance by host communities and provide the basis for warring parties to accept humanitarian action in situations of armed conflict. Domestically, the Government is taking steps to ensure the safety and security of personnel deployed to humanitarian crises, with the launch of a joint exercise in this area between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through Irish Aid, and the Humanitarian Aid Working Group of Dochas – the umbrella group for Irish development and humanitarian NGOs. The exercise will identify a common set of security management principles and training standards for application across the sector.