Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

55. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contribution of Ireland to the trust fund for Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44165/19]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa is an element of a comprehensive package of EU initiatives to support stability across North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel/Lake Chad region. The aim of the Trust Fund is to contribute to tackling the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular migration.

This Trust Fund was launched at the 2015 EU-Africa Summit on migration in Valletta, Malta for the 2016-2020 period.  Over €4.6 billion has been pledged for the Trust Fund by the EU and EU Member States.

At the time of its launch, Ireland made a commitment to provide €3 million to the Trust Fund. At the European Council meetings in October 2017 and June 2018, the Taoiseach announced further increases in Ireland's contribution, following calls for additional funding from EU Member States in light of the pressing needs identified. This brought Ireland's total commitment to €15 million.

To date, Ireland has provided €10.95 million of this total commitment to the Trust Fund, with the balance of €4.05 million to be disbursed before the end of 2020.