Ireland gives extra $1m to UN refugee agency

The Government is to give an extra €850,000 ($1 million) to the United Nations refugee agency, the Taoiseach announced today.

The funding brings the total donated by Ireland to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to €10.44 million in core funding and in response to emergency appeals this year.

Mr Ahern said the UNHCR has been put under "enormous strain" this year by a series of issues, from the troubles in Sudan, Chad and Darfur to the tsunami and the more recent earthquake in Pakistan.

"In Pakistan alone, the agency is providing basic supplies to over 100,000 displaced people. These are the most vulnerable people, who have lost everything, we have a duty to help them try and get their lives back to normal," Mr Ahern said.

"These additional resources will help the agency to better respond to the growing needs of refugees and displaced people for the remainder of this very difficult year."

An estimated 75,000 people have come down from the upper valleys since the earthquake hit the mountainous regions of north-eastern Pakistan on October 8th.

The UNHCR has transported over 290,0000 blankets, 22,000 tents, 33,000 jerry cans, 100,0000 plastic sheets and many tens of thousands of other relief items to the country with the help of other organisations.

It has also co-ordinated the shelter effort in Sri Lanka, after the tsunami hit the coast on December 26th, 2004, killing tens of thousands and displacing nearly 800,000 people.