Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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92. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka as a result of heavy rain which caused severe flooding and landslides in central, southern and western parts of the country; his plans to come to the assistance of these persons in this time of need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29261/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the need to ensure that humanitarian assistance and support is provided as quickly as possible to the many thousands of people suffering as a result of the damage caused by severe flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka. Ireland has not directly provided any emergency funding to Sri Lanka at this time. However, 228,000 Swiss francs ( €210,000 approx) was allocated from the International Federation of the Red Cross’s Disaster Emergency Relief Fund (DREF) on 28 May to support the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society in delivering assistance and support to 40,000 people affected by floods and landslides. Ireland has been a consistent donor to the DREF in recent years and donated a total of €1.1m in funding to it in 2016. On 24 February, the Start Fund provided €295,008 in funding to Handicap International, Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision in response to drought in Sri Lanka. The Start Fund is an NGO-managed pooled fund which allocates small amounts of humanitarian funding to NGOs in the initial days of an emergency response and focusing on under-the-radar emergencies. It is currently funded by the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and ECHO. Ireland contributed €1 million to the Start Fund in 2016.

Ireland has also supported the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) since it was first established in 2005, and is among the top eight contributors. We have contributed just over €12 million to CERF in 2017. To date this year, CERF has disbursed over US$7 million in funding to Sri Lanka.

We will continue to monitor the situation in Sri Lanka, including through our Embassy in New Delhi, which is accredited there. Our Ambassador in New Delhi maintains regular contact with the Sri Lankan authorities and regularly visits Sri Lanka for discussions.