Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Conflict, climate change and the lingering effects of COVID have combined to increase the need for humanitarian assistance. In 2022 the international community provided over €27 billion for food, shelter, medicine and other life saving humanitarian assistance. To date in 2023 the international community has provided over €17 billion.

The response of the international community is guided by regular humanitarian updates from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). These updates provide information on the numbers of people in need and the type of assistance required in the various crises across the globe. This facilitates a coordinated and appropriate response that targets those most in need.

Ireland is playing its part in the global response to humanitarian need, ranking among the top twenty humanitarian donors. In 2022 we provided a record €297.8 million in humanitarian assistance. This year, Ireland has supported humanitarian assistance and protection in countries and regions such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, the Sahel and Ukraine.

Ireland also responded immediately to the devastating earthquakes this year in Morocco, Afghanistan and Turkiye/Syria and to the floods in Libya, supporting the International Federation of the Red Cross, the United Nations and NGOs who were best placed to deliver life saving assistance on the ground and at speed.

Ireland is one of the 66 signatories to the Grand Bargain, an international initiative that sets out a series of actions intended to make humanitarian assistance more effective and efficient. The Grand Bargain includes donors, UN agencies, the Red Cross Family and NGOs. Grand Bargain signatories commit to provide quality funding, to promote locally led humanitarian action and to support innovative funding mechanisms. The Grand Bargain also promotes better data collection to more effectively target those most in need, particularly women, girls and people living with disabilities. Together, these actions combine to ensure that the global humanitarian response delivers the greatest possible impact for the affected communities.