Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 24 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The spread of Covid-19 threatens a catastrophic situation in a country where the health system has been shattered by years of conflict. Ireland is deeply concerned by this level of humanitarian suffering, and has provided over €27 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen since 2015, including €5 million in 2020. Ireland also contributes substantial funding at global level, including support to the UN's c…

Ireland does not have a weapons industry and, therefore, it does not supply military weapons to any party in the conflict in Yemen. Arms exports are a national competence in the EU, as I said, but all member states are subject to a common position on arms exports. Each arms export licence must be assessed on the eight criteria I mentioned, including that the recipient country must respect international humanitarian law. It is for each state to make this assessment as a national competence. Ireland strongly supports…

I reiterate that arms exports is an issue for the independent state. Our main effort is towards bringing about a peace agreement in Yemen. That is what we have been working on consistently. Along with the EU and the UN, Ireland believes that is the only way to bring about a long-term, sustainable improvement in the situation of Yemen. We fully support, therefore, the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to broker an agreement. It is important that we put our effort into that solution. The Mi…

As the Deputy is aware, the new Department with responsibility for climate action, communication networks and transport will lead on the Government's participation in the UN's framework for action on climate change. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is actively engaged in this process through its participation in the Irish national delegation. Members of the delegation, including officials from my Department, meet on a regular basis to co-ordinate and share information and ensure Ireland's interests are a…

I agree that something can be done on that issue in co-operation with our fellow European countries. Contributing to climate finance is very important. In 2018, Ireland provided €80 million in international climate finance, which mostly focused on adaptation for poor countries. The majority of that money was counted within the official Department assistance and was almost entirely in grant form. The final figure for 2019 is still being collated and will be made available soon. I take the Deputy's point and it is a …