Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is very good to hear of the critical work that OCHA is doing and Mr. Ging has outlined the caseload in that respect. Mr. Ging spoke of staff and I believe that staff are crucial. I hear, however, that some of the staff appointed by OCHA are on short--term contracts and do not enjoy the same conditions as staff who are on longer-term contracts. Mr. Ging spoke of duty of care but I would like to hear of OCHA's duty of care to all staff regardless of whether they are on short-term or long-term contracts and to acknowledge that the staff are in extremely difficult situations, as Mr. Ging has said.

The work of OCHA is humanitarian and emergency. Let us consider the offices it still maintains in the Philippines and in Myanmar, with large staff numbers. I know there are humanitarian needs there but those areas do not have the emergency needs that, for example, Nigeria or the other places as cited by Mr. Ging have. I am involved in African issues and it is my understanding that at the early stages there was very poor co-ordination in Nigeria, the quality staff was not there, the leadership was not there, although I know it has changed now, and this exacerbated the difficulty. The question must be asked as to why staff who were not in emergency situations could not have gone to Nigeria. I presume that in time OCHA develop the skills of local people and national staff so they can take over.

I would like to hear about the management structure of OCHA. Perhaps the witness will also outline exactly what OCHA is doing in Yemen and how that happens. I note from Mr. Ging's biography that he worked in Rwanda. We do not hear about Rwanda and I presume it is a good story, but I am interested to hear if there are other issues in Rwanda.