Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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364. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions his Department will take to support the humanitarian effort in Yemen. [61866/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The situation in Yemen continues to be the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. Seven years of conflict, accompanied by economic collapse and the breakdown of public institutions and services, have left over 24 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

Ireland, along with all EU member states, fully supports the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in his efforts to secure a nationwide ceasefire and the resumption of an inclusive Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process.

As part of our role on the Security Council, Ireland is maintaining a very high level of engagement on Yemen with key parties in the region. I have engaged extensively with both the Government of Yemen and countries of the region this year to urge them to work constructively towards a sustainable peace.

Ireland also welcomes the Yemen Economic Framework proposed by the UN, and we will continue to encourage all parties to constructively engage with these proposals in response to catastrophic food insecurity and poverty in Yemen.

In 2021, in addition to the €5 million pledged earlier this year as Ireland's contribution to humanitarian situation in Yemen and recognising the scale of the challenge, this month Ireland contributed an additional €1 million to the humanitarian response. This latest contribution brings Irish Aid humanitarian funding to Yemen since the crisis began to over €34 million. Given the scale of the ongoing crisis, Ireland will continue to provide funding to help meet the needs of the people of Yemen in 2022.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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365. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has spoken with his Polish counterpart to discuss the current situation at the Polish-Belarussian border. [61872/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland stands in solidarity with Poland and other affected Member States amid this deeply challenging situation at the Polish-Belarusian border. We are mindful that frontline EU Member States like Poland face immense pressures and we recognise that the unprecedented state of affairs at the Polish-Belarusian border has been a major factor in Poland’s state of emergency decision.

Nevertheless, we are very concerned for those migrants at the border and we would appeal to Poland to consider admitting international humanitarian organisations into the relevant area to assist with meeting migrants’ urgent and basic needs. Independent media access should also be facilitated. Furthermore, we would ask that Poland consider the possibility of accepting help and input from EU sources like Frontex. While the instrumentalisation of migrants by President Lukashenko’s regime is to be condemned and the EU’s territorial integrity needs to be maintained, EU values must be respected and Europe’s humanitarian obligations under the Geneva Conventions upheld.

At the November Foreign Affairs Council, I joined in discussions on this issue with my fellow Foreign Ministers where we gave political approval to the fifth package of sanctions, co-sponsored by Ireland.

On a visit to Poland in December, my colleague, Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, TD, met with Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Marcin Przydacz, Undersecretary of State for Security, the Americas, Asia and Eastern Policy. Their discussions included developments at the Poland-Belarus border as well as migration and Minister Byrne expressed Ireland’s position to Minister Prydacz. Furthermore, on a visit to Lithuania in October, Minister Byrne visited the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and saw first-hand the challenging situation in the region.

This dialogue and experience will inform Ireland’s engagement at EU level with all our fellow Member States, including Poland, to ensure Europe is equipped to deal with its migration challenges in a comprehensive and effective but also humane manner.