Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Two and a half years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine continues to face immense challenges. With the Taoiseach, I recently announced a €36 million package of support for Ukraine and its immediate neighbours, which builds on the extensive political, humanitarian, military and economic support provided since February 2022. It will provide much-needed humanitarian support and development assistance to people suffering the impact of this unjust war.

Our approach has been to provide support bilaterally and through multilateral organisations to meet ongoing humanitarian needs and assist progress towards early recovery and eventual reconstruction. Ireland has provided €3 million to the World Bank IDA crisis facility special programme for Ukraine and Moldova, SPUR. SPUR represents one half of a larger IDA crisis facility aimed at addressing the urgent needs arising from overlapping global crises in the immediate region and the wider region. There is a particular focus on food insecurity and extreme climate events, which have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. The programme finances reconstruction and recovery investments in Ukraine and complements ongoing efforts by multilateral and bilateral partners. It also provides additional resources to Moldova, which continues to host a large refugee population from Ukraine.

The special programme for Ukraine and Moldova works as a complementary channel to other World Bank programmes, which Ireland has funded, including the public expenditures for administrative capacity endurance facility and the Ukraine relief, recovery, reconstruction and reform trust fund. The World Bank currently estimates the overall reconstruction bill at $486 billion over the next decade, a figure which undoubtedly rises each day. Overall, Ireland has committed €380 million in assistance to the Ukrainian people since February 2022, including €130 million in stabilisation and humanitarian support and €250 million in non-lethal military assistance under the European Peace Facility.

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