Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 94, 117, 123, 136 and 1268 together.

As I stated in response to an earlier question on this issue, the Government is strongly committed to providing whatever support it can within available resources and capabilities, including the provision of Defence Forces personnel, to the humanitarian relief operation in south-east Asia following the recent tsunami disaster. As soon as the scale of the disaster became clear, the Department of Foreign Affairs deployed a high-level technical assessment team, which included a member of the Defence Forces, to examine the situation on the ground and to identify the assistance Ireland could offer to the affected region. Arising from its initial assessment, the team advised the Department of Foreign Affairs of an immediate requirement to attach two logistics planning experts and two engineers to the United Nations joint logistics centre.

After I consulted with my colleagues, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Finance, I agreed to the secondment, with effect from 18 January 2005, of four officers of the Permanent Defence Force on a volunteer basis to the United Nations joint logistics centre in Colombo in Sri Lanka. As the officers have just been deployed to the area, no detailed reports have been received to date, other than a situational report of their arrival and operational arrangements. It is important to note that the officers' primary role is not to report on further areas in which Ireland can be of assistance, but to report to the joint logistics centre, following a detailed analysis of key priorities within their fields of expertise.

The role of the logistics officers will be to evaluate, on behalf of the United Nations joint logistics centre, the current and future transport requirements in the affected areas for the delivery of humanitarian aid and to recommend solutions to overcome identified shortfalls. The role of the engineers will be to examine the road infrastructure in the affected areas, to specify the rehabilitation and repair requirements and to establish repair priorities, thereby restoring a functioning transport network in the area. It is expected that the officers will have completed their work in six to eight weeks.

The technical assessment team has only just returned. Preliminary field reports were received from the team and it is now examining in detail the needs in the affected areas in terms of an overall humanitarian assistance and development programme. Once it has completed its analysis and submitted its formal report and recommendations, the latter will be examined by the Government to determine further and ongoing responses to the situation in the region.

It is not possible at this stage to state whether further troops will be deployed to the region. The assessment team has advised that a request for a further small number of logistics planners may be pending. However, I have received no further formal requests for Defence Forces assistance. As Deputies will appreciate, this is an evolving situation and, as such, I am not in a position to advise as to what requests may arise over the coming weeks and months.

I assure Deputies that the Government is very positively disposed towards supporting the relief effort in the affected areas to the greatest possible extent. In the event that the Defence Forces have the capacity and resources to offer further required assistance in the region in specified roles, this will be examined on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the requirements and the situation on the ground.

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