Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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546. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the Exchequer funding given to the world food programme over the period 2010 to 2017; and the amount allocated in 2018. [53647/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department leads on Ireland’s engagement with the UN’s World Food Programme. The WFP is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide and is funded exclusively from voluntary contributions.  It is responsible for the delivery of food assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world and feeds 80 million of the most malnourished people in 80 countries.

In February 2016, Ireland signed its second Strategic Partnership Agreement with the World Food Programme. This agreement contained a commitment to double WFP core funding for 2016, 2017 and 2018 to €20m per year. The increased support for WFP was decided on by the Irish Government as part of its response to the current refugee crisis, including that arising from the conflict in Syria.

From 2010 to 2017 the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine provided funding of €110.8m to the World Food Programme, as detailed in the table below.

The 2017 allocation includes an advance payment of the 2018 commitment under Ireland’s Strategic Partnership Agreement with WFP.  This earlier disbursement is at the request of the World Food Programme’s Executive Director, who wrote to inform me that this funding will significantly contribute to enhance WFP's capability to plan its interventions and better address the several growing humanitarian crises around the world.

The funding, while generally targeted at WFP’s emergency and protracted relief operations, is provided on an un-earmarked basis which gives WFP the flexibility to plan and target this funding in the most strategic, efficient and effective manner.

Other Government Departments, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, also provide funding to the World Food Programme.