2026-07-02

1. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her views on the humanitarian crisis in Cuba; her views on whether the blockade of Cuba needs to be ended; the steps she is taking to alleviate the crisis; the steps being taken to ensure humanitarian aid is provided to Cuba; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50708/26]

At the outset, and on a separate manner, I take the opportunity to condemn strikes on Kyiv last night resulting in the loss of over a dozen citizens, and perhaps more. It is another example of the war of aggression that is taking an enormous human toll. The first question I have is in relation to the blockade of Cuba. The humanitarian situation there escalates by the day. The impact that it is having on the ordinary people of Cuba, particularly children and those who are sick, is profound. Clearly, a resolution is needed. The Government needs to make statements.

I, too, condemn the attacks last night. It makes it all the more important - in terms of our focus and priority during the Presidency - to ensure that we do everything possible, not just to support Ukraine but also to maintain pressure on Russia. That is something we very much communicated and engaged directly on with President Zelenskyy yesterday. I thank the Deputy for raising this question. As a country, we are monitoring the humanitarian situation in Cuba. I very much echo the UN Secretary General's concern at the growing humanitarian crisis in the country. Our position on the embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba is long-standing and clear. We have consistently voted for UN resolutions calling for the ending of the embargo, most recently last October at the UN General Assembly. Restricting the flow of basic goods, and particularly fuel, to Cuba heightens the suffering of ordinary Cubans. The Deputy's colleague discussed this last night. Due to the lack of fuel, we can see the impact it is having on the ability of farmers to be able to tillage, plough and deliver food. The impact that is then having on cities and people more generally is becoming more profound and something that we are extremely concerned about. Ireland provides ongoing humanitarian assistance directly to Cuba through funding to global positioned humanitarian funds, which work with local partners to deliver assistance. These include the United Nation's central emergency response fund, the International Federation of Red Cross, IFRC, and the Red Crescent Societies' disaster relief emergency fund and the START Network. In the past year, the central emergency response fund has allocated €6.4 million to UN agencies in Cuba. The IFRC has allocated €1 million and the START Network has allocated €270,000 to Care International for its work in Cuba. Ireland has also committed €100,000 through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to support Cuba to build capacity and develop a strategy to respond efficiently to extreme events, such as hurricanes. Ireland will continue to engage with its humanitarian partners to assess needs.

Like other issues, the humanitarian aid is necessary but more than that, a political solution is needed. It is clear that US sanctions are pushing the people of Cuba to the brink. Children are dying because doctors cannot access essential medicine and supplies. This is not just what I have said but UN human rights chief, Mr. Volker Türk, and the UN have called the immediate lifting of the United State's sanctions against Cuba. Mr. Türk said, "The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and the recent tightening of sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable." The daily blackouts are now exceeding 20 hours. Conditions are rapidly deteriorating. The UN Human Rights Office has cited frightening figures. Infant mortality has doubled to 9.9% per 1,000 births. Childhood cancer survival rates have fallen from 85% to 65% and essential medicines are available at only 30% of normal supply levels. The key point is that although the Government is voting for these resolutions, how is it raising this in international forums to ensure movement?

As time previously did not allow, I wish to stress that the European Commission is providing financial support. For all the reasons the Deputy outlined, it is important that humanitarian aid and support is provided. There is €2 million in aid in response to the crisis currently. That follows €4 million of EU funding approved as a regional allocation to the Caribbean, which was primarily allocated to the response in Cuba. In 2025, almost €6 million was provided for disaster preparedness and emergency response. A twin approach is needed. As the Deputy said, it is about providing that direct humanitarian assistance but also making sure this does not fall off the political or international agendas. I understand Cuba has requested an additional debate at the UN General Assembly on 7 July next week due to the escalation of measures that have been taken by the US in recent months, as well as threats of military action. While this is strictly procedural and it is to vote on whether there will be a further debate on this, we will be voting in favour on 7 July that we would have a wider discussion on this, so we can discuss and assess the current humanitarian situation and that we can use our position within the UN and our voice to call for this type of embargo and these types of sanctions to be lifted. As the Deputy said and we all agree, the main people who are suffering here are civilians and citizens who cannot access medicines, cannot get food to those who need it and cannot go about their daily business in the way the Deputy or I can.

While there are commitments in terms of humanitarian aid, the difficulty is that the current blockade means that even with access to cash, the international payment systems have, to a substantial degree, been blocked off and, indeed, supply of energy is not being facilitated. Countries that would have previously supplied energy, including Mexico and so on, have now substituted to other forms of aids but, ultimately, the fuel is not getting through and, therefore, the system is grinding to a halt. Deputy Farrell said last night that there is food rotting in the fields because there is not the energy to harvest it. Ultimately, as well as cash, there is a need to ensure there is the ability for Cuba to receive energy, fuel, petrol and gas. At the end of the day, the international community has broadly taken a clear enough position with some exceptions. Ultimately, it is the United States that is responsible for this blockade. Has the Minister directly raised her concern in relation to this issue with representatives from the United States Government ?

There are two things here. We need to make sure the European and international community are very clear in our view and position on this. Ireland has been very clear and taken a very clear position. Over a number of years, although we are discussing the fact things have escalated further, we have had ongoing dialogue and contact with the US on a range of international issues. That includes Cuba. We have relayed and conveyed our concerns directly with them. We have communicated our position on the US embargo, the impact of the embargo and the international response to the humanitarian crisis but also the importance of maintaining diplomatic engagement. Earlier on this year, there was progress made between the Cuban Government and the US. However, that then shifted and changed. This continuing approach has not changed. What we want to do is ensure that the dialogue and the structure are there. We have an EU-Cuba political dialogue and co-operation agreement. There are some calls for that to be reviewed or changed. We need to look at the structure that is there now. We need to engage directly with that government. There have been concerns around human rights, democracy, government concerns and how we work directly with the government to address those concerns while at the same time engaging directly with the US. This is about dialogue. The only way this is going to be resolved is through dialogue and through the US engaging directly with Cuba but also the Cuban Government addressing and responding to some of the significant challenges that been identified by the international community. Our position through that co-operation agreement should be to ramp up and enhance that dialogue and engagement, particularly at a time where we are seeing devastating consequences for many people because of the sanctions or the blockade that has been imposed.