Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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165. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to provide multi-year funding for the next phase of the UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme on female genital mutilation, FGM, which is the largest global response to accelerate the elimination of FGM, in order to meet Target 5.3 of the sustainable development goals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50827/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a clear violation of the human rights of women and girls. It has serious social, health and psychological consequences and is one of the most pervasive forms of gender based violence. Girls and women subjected to FGM are at risk of early marriage and dropping out of school. In turn, this is linked to reduced opportunities for growth, development and sustainable incomes more generally. It is estimated that more than three million girls are at risk of undergoing FGM every year.Ireland played a central role at the United Nations brokering the Sustainable Development Goals, which asks all UN members to eliminate FGM by 2030. Ireland advocated strongly for the inclusion of this particular target on FGM, which is intended to provide much needed impetus to international action to end this appalling practice.

Tackling violence against women and girls is an important focus of Ireland’s development aid programme, which we see as critical to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Through our support for multilateral organisations and NGOs, together with policy work at multiple levels, Irish official development assistance works towards the elimination of FGM, as well as towards tackling many of its root causes, including persistent poverty and gender inequality.

In addition to core funding of €10 million in 2017 to the UN agencies most involved in addressing FGM (UNICEF and UNFPA), Ireland also supports those agencies’ Joint Programme on Eliminating FGM: Accelerating Change. Since the Joint Programme was launched in 2007, Ireland has provided over €1 million in funding, including, most recently, €250,000 in 2016. The next phase of the Joint Programme on Eliminating FGM is due to run from 2018 to 2021.

A new White Paper on Ireland’s policy on international development will prepared in the first half of next year. This will set out clear priorities for the coming years, including on how Ireland’s overseas development assistance will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.