Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but the Irish Emergency Alliance does not. I am trying to figure out whether there is duplication of staff on the ground. Obviously there is a huge amount of trust in all the organisations such as Concern, UNICEF and Trócaire. As politicians, people come to us to ask who they should give money to. We find it hard to pick the best one. So many organisations appear before this committee and they have amazing people in them who do so much work. It is hard for us to pick the best one. So from that point of view, this is really welcome. Obviously as the duplication of resources is a practical element, I am happy to support the Irish Emergency Alliance. It is great to have an opportunity today to highlight the lack of access to Gaza. The public will be watching and trying to understand. I cannot understand the lack of trucks getting through. It is really hard to understand when people are starving on one side of a border and food trays and humanitarian assistance are lining up on the other. It is shocking and horrific.

My final question is on the way the Irish Emergency Alliance is modelling itself on the UK's disasters emergency committee. Is that publicly funded by the UK department? Is that what the Irish Emergency Alliance is looking for, to get a similar type of funding levels?