Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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193. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of the money that was pledged at donor conference in Cairo in 2014 to rebuild Gaza which has been delivered; the contribution, if any, that Ireland made to this fund; the total of the pledged money has been used to date; the number of homes that have been reconstructed in Gaza with the pledged money to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17388/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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At the International Gaza Reconstruction Conference, held in Cairo in October 2014, donors pledged USD3.5 billion to support recovery efforts in Gaza in the aftermath of the 2014 conflict. As an immediate response to the Gaza crisis, Ireland provided €500,000 in July 2014 to the Emergency Appeal of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to help provide urgently needed food, shelter and medical aid to thousands of families many of whom had to flee their homes. At the International Gaza Reconstruction Conference, I pledged a further €2.5 million towards urgent immediate needs and long term recovery efforts. €2 million of this has been provided to UNRWA’s Gaza Emergency Appeal. During my visit to the Middle East last week, I met with UNRWA’s Deputy Commissioner General, Sandra Mitchell, who provided me with a detailed briefing on the very significant progress made in rebuilding UNRWA’s educational and medical facilities. I was pleased to announce, therefore, a further €500,000 for UNRWA’s response in Gaza. This fulfils our pledge of €2.5 million made at the International Gaza Reconstruction Conference in 2014 and brings our total support to the Gaza crisis to €3 million.

The World Bank is taking the lead on monitoring pledges made at the Conference and its most recent report of 19 April 2016 indicates that USD1.409 billion has been disbursed, which represents 40% of the funding pledged at the Conference. I am aware that the current rate of disbursement is less than expected, contributing to a pace of reconstruction much slower than needed. According to the report, only 9% of totally damaged houses and 45% of partially damaged houses have so far been rebuilt, and 14,800 families continue to be displaced. While recent indications are that residential reconstruction is picking up momentum, the amount of construction material imported into Gaza continues to be lower than needed.

Ireland has met its pledge in full in the timeframe specified and I would urge all countries to fulfil their pledges. It should be recalled, of course, that many of the pledges made, like Ireland’s, were to be phased over a period of time. Many States also made clear that their willingness to donate was linked to progress in discussions to ensure that this type of conflict did not happen again. Unfortunately there has been little progress in this regard.

Ireland will continue to press, at EU level and elsewhere, to maintain focus on the humanitarian needs in Gaza and for an end to the blockade on the territory.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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194. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made by him and his European Union counterparts to ensure that Palestinian people have access to an adequate and safe water supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17389/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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A combination of increased aridity and growing populations mean that water supply is becoming an increasingly critical issue across the wider Middle East, and large populations are now becoming water vulnerable. However, there are specific additional stresses on Palestinian people resulting from the Israeli control of their land and resources, and the discrimination in favour of Israeli settlers in relation to water as well as other issues. Ireland provides annual funding to a local NGO that provides clean-water services to off-grid communities in the West Bank using environmentally and socially sustainable methods. To date, the NGO’s rural electrification and clean-water services have reached nearly 2000 people in 20 communities in Area C of the West Bank. In addition to Ireland’s annual core support to UNOCHA, we also contribute to the UNOCHA Humanitarian Pooled Fund (HPF) for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, an emergency fund with the aim of supporting the delivery of strategic humanitarian assistance. Examples of recent projects funded by the HPF are improvement of access and quality in relation to municipal water services in Gaza; improvement to basic sanitation and hygiene services in Gaza; improvement of access to safe, sufficient and affordable water and sanitation facilities for the vulnerable population in Area C.

Ireland also provides annual support to UNRWA, which provides assistance and protection for Palestinian refugees, including in the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA’s programmes include work to ensure access to safe drinking water through comprehensive water-supply networks. It also provides sewerage systems and storm-water drainage to combat the spread of sanitation and hygiene related diseases. In addition to providing funding to UNRWA’s General Fund, Ireland also supports UNRWA’s Gaza Emergency Appeal.

The EU has provided humanitarian funding of EUR25 million to the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2015 through ECHO. In Gaza, ECHO funds humanitarian projects including those that deal with water and sanitation.

Last week the EU agreed to provide €10 million in funding to UNICEF for stage two of the Gaza small scale desalination plant, following €10 million already provided for stage one. Stage two is to begin construction in the next few weeks, and will produce 12,000 cubic metres of safe drinking water each day.

Other EU partners are also engaged in specific projects, for instance Germany has been engaged on building new sewage treatment works in Gaza.

In addition to these efforts directly related to water issues, Ireland and our EU partners continue to work politically for an end to the occupation and the expansion of settlements which are the root cause of many of these problems.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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195. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the recent measures or sanctions put in place to stop the illegal advancement of Israeli settlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17390/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I have consistently made clear, both here in the House and in discussions at EU level, Ireland’s view that the relentless expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank is a major driver of the continuing conflict. I raised the issue of settlements last week with the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also Israel’s Foreign Minister. Settlements also featured in my discussions with the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad Malki, and with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Mr. Nabil Al Araby. Settlement expansion acts to make more difficult and, possibly, ultimately close off the possibility of a peace agreement, and contributes significantly to the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The European Union continues to work to distinguish its relations with Israel itself from any with settlements.

The principal measure in place is that goods from settlements, both produce and manufactured goods, are not eligible for the reduced tariffs on entry to the EU which apply to goods from Israel and most other countries. They are therefore charged an unusually high tariff.

Israeli veterinary certification is not accepted for meat from settlements, which cannot therefore be imported to the EU.

EU research funding granted to Israeli institutions may not be spent within settlements.

Ireland and other EU countries advise citizens against investing in settlements.

The EU has issued guidelines, in response to requests from Ireland other partners, making clear that settlement goods may not be misleadingly labelled as being produce of Israel.

We will continue to consider what other measures might be appropriate and effective.