Ireland has duty to lead on food security due to famine history - Taoiseach

Ireland will continue to work at both United Nations and European Union level to provide leadership in the campaign against the weaponisation of food in the war in Ukraine, given our historic experience of famine, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

“As a country which has had experience of such a traumatic event as famine, we have a moral obligation to provide leadership against the weaponisation of food and we will continue to take that leadership role at international level,” he said.

“The weaponisation of food is not something new in the context of the Ukrainian war – food is being weaponised, and we are facing a really significant issue in the Horn of Africa… We are very conscious of the potential calamity facing people in the Horn of Africa,” he said.

Speaking at the West Cork History Festival in Skibbereen at a symposium on the Great Famine, Mr Martin said he was anticipating comments by Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof who has urged international leaders to ensure the war in Ukraine does not lead to widescale starvation in Africa.

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Mr Martin said the Great Famine - which effectively halved island’s population - was a defining moment in Irish history.

“When you look at this year’s census and realise the figure is the highest since the Famine [it] only goes to show it almost as if we are recovering still from that period, in terms of sheer population and, of course, it led the creation of a diaspora which has had a long-lasting effect on us.”

Mr Martin said he was struck during a recent visit to Kyiv by how the Ukrainian people had a similar experience when millions died during the famine of 1932/1933, known as the Holodomor, which had a similar effect on the Ukrainian national conscious as the Great Famine had on the Irish psyche.

“They are still conscious of the Holodomor even in the midst of the war at the moment – they took me a museum to the Holodomor and for them, it is very much a defining moment in their national consciousness and while it was a catastrophic event, it has brought about a strong sense of identity.”

Mr Martin said Ireland’s experience of famine was very much informing the Government’s approach to its role at the UN, particularly in relation to humanitarian relief.

Irish diplomats at the UN had worked hard to keep humanitarian corridors of relief open to assist people in Syria while Ireland was also deeply committed to helping countries in Africa and elsewhere achieving genuinely sustainable development.

“We believe it is important that we take a lead on food security in European fora and the United Nations and that will be a constant in our international outlook, particularly in relation to the realisation of sustainable development goals to prevent famine,” he said.

The audience at Saturday’s symposium on the Great Famine was able to view a video recording of Geldof when he visited South Reen farm near Union Hall which was the scene of some of the most worst devastation caused by the Great Famine.

Geldof read a letter written by unionist magistrate NM Cummins to Irish born, British prime minister, the Duke of Wellington, pleading with him to provide immediate relief to the starving Irish he had witnessed at South Reen.

Speaking to The Irish Times at the filming of the video, Geldof said Russian president Vladimir Putin was using famine as an “instrument of war” following his invasion of Ukraine and he warned that countries in Africa were facing food shortages because of disruption to Ukrainian grain experts.

Geldof said he feared a “big hammer blow” would be felt next year in terms of hunger, particularly in Africa, due to the war’s impact on grain, seed and fertiliser production. He said he did not see Mr Putin agreeing to allow grain to leave Ukraine “unless it is in his absolute interest”.

He said he also feared Mr Putin would use the disruption to Ukrainian grain supplies as a mean of destabilising several Middle Eastern countries, including Lebanon and Egypt which were heavily dependent on imported food stuffs.

“If you take regions like Lebanon and Egypt — Lebanon is 82 per cent dependent on grain imports, particularly Russian and Ukrainian grain imports. You have already seen riots in the street with regard to the sort of political logjam but also a great portion of this is to do with bread riots.”

“This will accelerate and in a very volatile land like Lebanon this will spill over. I have no doubt that Putin wants that to happen. He already controls Syria and Syria, in turn, through Hezbollah controls a huge portion of Lebanon. And if they kick off, Israel is involved.”

Geldof also urged the Taoiseach to ensure that aid budgets were not cut as a result of the current economic downturn. Last May, the UK government announced major cuts in its overseas aid, saying it was planning to give less to international organisations such as the UN and instead focus on individual projects and countries that are UK priorities.