Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

430. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps taken or proposed by the international community to contain the spread of Ebola; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38221/14]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is now recognised as an international public health emergency. I have just returned from a visit to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, where I saw for myself the devastating effects of the epidemic on people already coping with the impact of conflict and poverty.

The epidemic shows no signs of abating and the UN has stated that, in addition to the devastating effect it has already had on economic development in the most-affected countries, it is also a threat to security, governance and political stability in the region. As of 23 September, the World Health Organisation has estimated the total number of cases in West Africa at over 6,500, with more than 3,000 deaths.

Ireland was one of the co-sponsors of a UN Security Council resolution on Ebola adopted on 18 September, which led to the establishment of a new UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response - UNMEER. The Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Ebola, David Nabarro, issued a call on 24 September for funding of €1 billion. On 25 September, a High Level Meeting was held at the UN in New York to focus world attention on the crisis.

The European Council considered the crisis at its special meeting on 30 August and called for increased response co-ordination across the Member States. A comprehensive EU response framework is now in place and the EU has so far pledged €180 million for the fight against Ebola, in addition to individual Member State contributions. Foreign Ministers will focus on the crisis at the next meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council which will be held on 20 October.

Ireland is also playing its part. Liberia and Sierra Leone are the two countries most severely affected. They are partner countries for Ireland’s development aid programme, where we are providing a total of €10 million in aid annually, much of it focused on supporting the health systems. We are also providing very significant funding for the long term development work of our NGO partners in both countries.

We have provided humanitarian funding of €350,000 directly to NGOs working on the Ebola response, and I recently announced additional funding of €660,000 to UNICEF. As a result of my visit to Sierra Leone, I have announced further funding of €1.1 million for the management of two Ebola Treatment Centres in West Africa, one in Sierra Leone and one in Liberia. We will continue to monitor developments very closely, and will examine what further assistance Ireland can provide, and how the effectiveness of the global response can be strengthened further.