Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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77. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he, along with EU and UN colleagues, continues to press for humanitarian assistance in the various conflict zones globally; if consideration continues to be given to the provision of safe or protective havens for civilian communities fleeing from war, genocide and terrorism; the extent to which peace keeping interventions are being considered in the most sensitive war zones; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3052/17]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The provision of effective humanitarian assistance is a key foreign policy priority for the Government. Ireland provided over €150 million in humanitarian funding in 2016, to provide assistance to people affected by crisis and conflict around the world.

Ireland’s humanitarian assistance is targeted at where needs are greatest and we ensure a focus on crises and conflicts that are sometimes ignored in the media. We work particularly at EU and UN level to advocate for increased humanitarian access, more effective means of providing assistance, and respect for international humanitarian law.

Ireland contributes strongly to the European Commission’s humanitarian action outside the EU, which has an annual budget of approximately €1 billion. Ireland’s UN partners lead the coordination of international appeals for humanitarian assistance, including through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. Ireland is the eighth largest donor to this Fund, which has provided $4.6 billion in life-saving assistance to people affected by crises since 2005.

In May last year, the UN Secretary General convened the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, in an effort to address the current scale of global humanitarian crisis. I delivered Ireland’s National Statement, making a number of commitments on effective humanitarian action, including through our support to conflict affected states and our approach to peacekeeping. These commitments will remain a top priority in 2017.

Providing safe havens within conflict zones is extremely difficult, especially where civilian protection is not prioritised. Safe havens require UN mandates and robustly-equipped peacekeeping personnel. Political will is lacking in many conflicts today, including from some on the UN Security Council. However, in other places, the UN is active and there are twice as many UN peacekeepers deployed today as 15 years ago. Ireland continues to play its part, with more than 570 personnel in UN-mandated missions overseas.

In 2017, Ireland will remain a strong advocate for a more effective UN response and for respect for international humanitarian law.