Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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29. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the funding Ireland is providing to national Ukrainian organisations and the UNHCR for the provision of shelter and protection to millions of displaced people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40564/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland remains steadfast in our support for the people and Government of Ukraine. Recent escalations in the conflict have driven more people from their homes adding to the 3.6 million already internally displaced. As Ukraine faces into another winter, Ireland's humanitarian funding continues to target the most vulnerable, including women and children, displaced persons and those closest to conflict lines.

In 2024 we are providing €23.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. This funding is part of the overall package of €36 million of support, which the Taoiseach and I announced recently in advance of the Taoiseach’s visit to Kyiv.

This funding package includes €5.5 million for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for its Ukraine crisis response, including its work to provide shelter and protection for millions of displaced people. This builds on €4.5 million which we provided to UNHCR in 2023, which included €1.5 million in support of their “core homes” project. This involved the construction of pre-fabricated core homes for families whose properties were entirely destroyed due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The homes were installed on the private land of the families concerned, allowing them to remain on their own property and maintain links to their communities, services, and employment.

Ireland is supporting the work of national Ukrainian organisations through grants to partners like the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) which provides assistance to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, working with affected communities to ensure shelter and other needs are met. Ireland also funds the UN's Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine which channels funding to national and community based organisations.

Irish support for Ukraine is multifaceted: political, humanitarian, military, and economic. We have committed €380 million in assistance to the Ukrainian people since February 2022. With this most recent package of funding, Ireland will have provided €62.5 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine since 2022.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland has signed up to the recent joint declaration of support for recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40318/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland joined the EU, G7 and international partners in supporting the Joint Declaration of Support for Recovery & Reconstruction of Ukraine on 25 September 2024. This declaration reaffirms our strong commitment to helping Ukraine meet its urgent short-term financing needs, and to supporting its long-term recovery and reconstruction. At the invitation of Presidents Biden and Zelenskyy, I was honoured to attend an event dedicated to Ukraine’s economic recovery and reconstruction during UN High Level Week last month.

Since February 2022, Ireland has provided significant humanitarian and stabilisation support to Ukraine, focusing on addressing immediate needs and early recovery efforts. We are also engaged in discussions at EU level on short-term recovery and longer-term reconstruction efforts. The EU’s €50 billion “Ukraine Facility”, which was adopted in February and which Ireland strongly supported, includes investment in rebuilding critical infrastructure. We also recognise the important role of the private sector and civil society in these processes, and support a gender-responsive and inclusive recovery effort.

Bilaterally, Ireland funds UNHCR in Ukraine to provide emergency shelter and access to medium-term housing solutions. In 2023, UNHCR provided emergency shelter kits to 172,000 people, repaired the homes of 22,000 families and over 40,800 displaced people benefited from different forms of support in 546 collective sites to which people have been forced to flee.

Ireland has also provided €1.5million to UNHCR for the construction of prefab modular homes, which provide an opportunity for families whose homes were destroyed, to return to their communities and originally owned plots of land.

Ireland will continue to identify community infrastructure which we can help to rehabilitate, to ensure that the most vulnerable continue to have access to the essential services they need, and to strengthen Ukrainian systems, enabling longer term development. We are partnering with counterparts in Lithuania who have significant experience of reconstruction in Ukraine.