Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I extend my sincere sympathies to the Government and people of Pakistan on the appalling tragedy. The Pakistan community in Ireland has been greatly distressed by that tragedy and some members of that community are good friends of mine.

To take up a point made by Deputy Neville, on a day when the Irish Government has produced its White Paper on the draft EU constitution, a significant element of which refers to the EU's development of its foreign policy, it is extraordinary, as Deputy Neville has said, given the absolute predictability of these earthquakes that we — not particularly Ireland but other countries — have not been able to pursue with the same vigour evident in the sale and purchase of arms a coherent plan to address disasters which come with frightening rapidity.

I have no doubt there is a grand plan available for the inevitable earthquake that is expected to occur on the west coast of America in the not too distant future. It is a great pity that the poorer countries of the world, many of which have experienced awful disasters in recent years, have to experience the trauma of what the people of Pakistan are experiencing. It must be possible, as Deputy Neville and others have said, for a rapid response arrangement to be available rather than have to listen to the pleadings of media journalists, explain that a particular pathway is not negotiable while people are sleeping on mattresses on the ground and on the streets and waiting for days on end for their own government to respond. No national government on its own is able to respond to a natural disaster such as has been experienced in Asia or in South America.

I urge the House to consider how it can contribute to developing the foreign policy of the European Union in a co-ordinated way. Ireland is among the most enlightened communities in the world and is in a position to react better than most. We certainly have the financial capacity to react. Let us set our jealousies, if any, aside on occasions such as this. We cannot have children starving, people dying of thirst and hunger.

We have seen hundreds of children crushed under badly constructed buildings. Would it be possible for the world professional community, such as architects, surveyors and engineers to make their professional expertise available to poorer countries or to develop new building technologies so buildings in Turkey, Bam and Pakistan do not collapse like a house of card or dominos? If they did nothing else, that kind of contribution would be welcome.

I compliment the Government on its speedy response. The NGOs will do the job they have always done and do it extremely well and the International Red Cross will not be found wanting. While planning is required, the official international community, through the United Nations and the European Union, is required to do it. Earlier today I met some people from Ethiopia and I have just left a meeting with some people from Burma, all of whom have experienced their own disasters. The story is the same the world over but the lessons have not been learned. It is high time that Ireland, as a country with moral authority which does not have a vested interest in the territorial interests of any particular country other than our own, exerted serious moral direction on the rest of the world to ensure this kind of disaster does not occur again.

I extend my sympathies to all those affected by the disasters in Asia and South America and urge that Ireland become a pioneer in preparing a disaster plan which inevitably will be required on a fairly regular basis.

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