Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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10. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which the recently announced €3 million in aid to the Philippines will be spent; the way his Department is assisting communities that were affected by Typhoon Haiyan; and if there will be any additional aid given to the Philippines this year. [15389/14]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, hit the Philippines on 8 November 2013. It is estimated that the Typhoon affected more than 14 million people, with almost 4 million remaining displaced, including some 1.5 million children. Over 6,000 lives are known to have been lost and almost 1800 people are still missing.

Ireland was among the first to respond to this disaster, providing immediate, life-saving assistance. Our commitment to date stands at over €7.1 million and, with an additional estimated €4 million in voluntary donations by the Irish public, this makes us one of the most generous contributors to this relief effort on a per capita basis. Our commitment to respond effectively to this disaster was clearly underlined by Minister of State Costello's recent visit to the Philippines to witness at first hand the situation on the ground. Over €2.6million of Ireland's funding was provided through our key NGO partners. It is being effectively utilised for the provision of emergency food and non-food items; water, sanitation and hygiene; emergency health care and the protection of vulnerable women and children. It is benefitting up to 50,000 households.

In the immediate aftermath of the Typhoon, we authorised four airlifts of essential relief items from our emergency pre-positioned stocks. The total amount of essential relief items provided to date is 166 tonnes, valued at €967,000. My colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, also authorised a contribution of €500,000 to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to support its work to restore the livelihoods of farmers affected bythe Typhoon.

An enormous amount has been achieved over the past four months, including through Irish-funded programmes, some of which Minister of State Costello visited on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, where he saw at firsthand the devastation caused by the typhoon. However, millions of people still require urgent assistance to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and strengthen their resilience to prepare for any future natural disasters in the region. In late November of last year, the deployment of a Government technical mission was authorised in order to obtain a detailed analysis of the longer-term needs of the worst affected regions. The recommendations from this technical mission include provision of additional funding of €3 million for the recovery phase, which was announced during the Minister's recent visit to Tacloban on Leyte Island.

This additional funding will be channelled through our long-standing humanitarian partners and, in accordance with the recommendations of the technical mission, will focus on shelter, livelihoods and protection support in worst-affected communities. This additional €3 million clearly demonstrates Ireland's commitment to supporting the Philippines over the longer term, as international media attention shifts elsewhere.