Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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105. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which Ireland encourages a greater, more rapid response to emerging global emergencies arising from starvation, crop failure, war and ethnic cleansing, arising from deliberations at the United Nations Security Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27794/24]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland consistently advocates for greater international attention and action to respond to global humanitarian crises. During our membership of the UN Security Council in 2021 and 2022, Ireland encouraged a rapid response to many humanitarian crises across the globe. We continue to advocate for an urgent response, including as Co-Chair of the UN Group of Friends on Conflict and Hunger, and as a member of the Advisory Board of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

In 2023, Ireland's humanitarian spend reached a record €300 million. So far in 2024, we have responded to multiple crises, including the conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, and the Horn of Africa. The provision of rapid humanitarian assistance for sudden onset emergencies is a particular challenge, which Ireland addresses through our Rapid Response Initiative, and our pre-positioned global humanitarian funding.

Under the Rapid Response Initiative, Ireland provides emergency supplies such as tents and blankets to sudden onset crises; we also deploy humanitarian experts to UN agencies to support their humanitarian response. In 2024, to date, we have provided vital relief items to Gaza and Haiti, and deployed 21 members of our Rapid Response Roster to five UN agencies in 14 countries.

Ireland also provides funding to several global humanitarian pooled funds. In 2024, we have provided €14 million to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, €1.4 million to the START Fund, and €1.4 million to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. We also provides pre-positioned humanitarian funding to Irish Non-Governmental Organisations through Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership. These pre-positioned funding mechanisms are the most efficient means to respond quickly and efficiently to sudden natural disasters or conflicts.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which Ireland and the United Nations is continuously alert to the various locations worldwide that remain sensitive to hunger, starvation and human rights abuses, with the view to a rapid response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27795/24]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Through our international development programme, the Government continues to focus strongly on the impact of the serious global food and nutrition crisis, and its impact on the most vulnerable countries and communities. The 2024 Global Report on Food Crises notes that over 280 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity, representing an increase of 24 million since 2022. Ireland is particularly concerned about the ongoing crises in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Yemen which are severely undermining people’s right to food and putting millions of people at risk of famine.

Ireland is working hard to reverse these trends. We work closely with UN agencies that are specialised in responding to immediate food and nutrition crises and in building sustainable and resilient food systems.

We are currently implementing our €50 million pledge on child wasting initiative, through an international initiative to prevent and address severe malnutrition among children. Ireland's three-year programme of funding supports UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and Concern Worldwide to work in countries across Africa.

We continue to support the World Food Programme (WFP), which is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine currently provides €75 million over three years to the WFP. In March this year, Ireland announced a pledge to increase its support to the WFP to €105 million over three years (2025-2027).

We also recently announced that we will double our funding to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to €25 million over three years (2025-2027). IFAD specialises in supporting small-scale farmers and rural communities to improve their agriculture and food security.

Internationally, Ireland is taking a leading role in advocating for a more ambitious and concerted response to food insecurity, malnutrition and for the protection of human rights. Ireland’s active international engagement on human rights discussions enables us to reaffirm our commitment to the universality, indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights and to accountability for human rights violations and abuses.

Within the EU, Ireland continues to support the Team Europe response to global food insecurity, including solidarity through emergency relief. We work closely with EU partners including the EU Special Representative on Human Rights, to ensure that all UN Human Rights bodies and processes are continuously strengthened to ensure an effective response to human rights violations and abuses.

We remain fully committed to addressing immediate food and nutrition insecurity and to promoting and protecting human rights.