Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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229. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made to address the refugee crisis in Syria and Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18641/17]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Ireland continues to respond to the unprecedented levels of humanitarian need resulting from ongoing conflict and violence in Syria and Iraq, including through support to neighbouring countries, which are hosting huge numbers of refugees.

Since 2012, we have provided a total of €76.5 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syria crisis. At the conference co-chaired by the EU and the UN in Brussels last week, I promised that Ireland would provide at least €25 million this year to support those affected by the crisis. A further €5.75 million has been provided in for Iraq, including €3 million in 2016.

Our funding is channeled through a range of partners, including UN organisations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, and NGOs, who are best placed to respond. These partners provide humanitarian supplies and urgently-needed health, education, water and sanitation services, as well as protection for children and vulnerable families. On my recent visit to Jordan and Lebanon, I saw how Ireland’s assistance is helping refugees to meet their daily requirements, and I heard how their ambition is to return in safety to their homes.

Through our annual contributions to the EU, Ireland is supporting the EU’s humanitarian response in Syria and Iraq, including the Turkey Refugee Facility. Funding from the Facility has been used to launch the largest humanitarian programme in EU history, the Emergency Social Safety Net, which provides direct monthly cash transfers to the most vulnerable refugee families in Turkey.

Since 2012, we have also deployed 43 experts through our Rapid Response Corps to the Balkans and Middle East, to work with UN agencies responding to migration challenges resulting from the Syrian conflict.

Given the volatile situation in Iraq, we expect to provide additional funds to the UN’s Iraq humanitarian operation this year, focusing on the needs of the displaced.

We are continuing to monitor developments in the region very closely and will work with partners to ensure that our assistance helps to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including displaced and refugee communities.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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230. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether the international community has focused and is successful in achieving targets in respect of the provision of safe drinking water to areas suffering from war, starvation and famine such as countries in the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Somalia and Nigeria; his views on whether the campaign to provide such drinking water has been successfully developed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18642/17]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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In 2016, Ireland provided over €190 million globally in humanitarian assistance to people affected by crisis and conflict, including in the Horn of Africa, Yemen and Nigeria. The funding is directed towards the provision of life-saving assistance including food support, shelter, and the provision of basic services including health, education and water and sanitation.

In 2016, we also provided €7.5 million in core funding to UNICEF, the UN Agency which leads the work globally to provide clean drinking water in humanitarian crises. Water is a basic need and fundamental human right, but many people around the world, including in the Horn of Africa, Yemen and Nigeria, lack access to a safe, uncontaminated and local water supply. Access to a safe, sufficient, clean water supply is particularly difficult in conflict situations, due to displacement, lack of resources and disruption of services by armed groups.

The latest UNICEF figures on water and sanitation in emergencies show that, despite progress in many areas, significant work is still required to ensure that people in humanitarian situations can access sufficient water safely for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

Specifically, Irish Aid works with partner organisations to meet the water, sanitation and hygiene needs of those affected by conflict and violence, as well as other humanitarian crises. Since the start of 2016, 7 water, sanitation and hygiene specialists from Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps have been deployed to support UNICEF’s and UNHCR’s humanitarian and emergency responses. We have also supported the UN to provide vulnerable communities with access to safe water in Yemen and elsewhere. The provision of safe, sufficient, regular and clean water supply is also a priority for the International Committee of the Red Cross, a key humanitarian partner for Ireland. ICRC water teams work in over 80 countries, including in Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen, providing water for populations affected by conflict and violence

Through such partnerships and through our engagement at international level on our humanitarian and development programmes, Ireland continues to support the rights of every man, woman and child to the essential resource of water.