Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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55. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline Ireland’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60428/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Sudan is now the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with nearly 12 million people forcibly displaced and over 20 million people facing crisis levels of hunger, in what is a preventable crisis.

Ireland has provided substantial amounts of humanitarian assistance in responding to the crisis. In 2025, we have provided €14.3 million through UN agencies, and Irish and International NGO partners, to support communities in Sudan and those displaced in neighbouring countries. This includes an additional €3 million in funding announced in September. In 2026, we expect to increase our levels of assistance for Sudan.

Since the outbreak of the war, Ireland has consistently emphasised the need to maintain humanitarian access. Both main parties to the conflict are responsible for obstructing aid and conducting attacks on aid convoys, resulting in untold suffering for the civilian population. The situation in El Fasher is particularly alarming, with horrifying reports of large-scale ethnically-motivated atrocities being carried out. While some improved access has been reported by humanitarian agencies in recent months, access to areas such as El Fasher remains extremely difficult.

At the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in October, Ireland joined Member States in condemning the ongoing conflict and adopting Council Conclusions on Sudan, which we played an active role in formulating. I signed a joint statement by 30 donor countries condemning attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers in Sudan in June and an Australian-led Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Workers at the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

The conflict in Sudan is a human catastrophe that also risks wider instability in the region. The Government will continue to work to keep Sudan on the international agenda, including within the EU. We stand ready to lend support to mediation and other efforts aimed at ending the conflict and making urgent progress on the needed democratic transition.