Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Seasonal rains caused flooding and landslides in central and east Java in December 2007 and January 2008, with reports of about 118 deaths. Relief activities were principally conducted by the Indonesian authorities, including the national agency for search and rescue, provincial and district co-ordination units for disaster management and the Indonesian Department of Health. The Indonesian authorities, the Indonesian Red Cross Society and NGOs on the ground were equipped with the capacity to respond effectively to the flooding and landslides and no general international appeal for assistance was issued.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, IFRC, is a key partner of Irish Aid in responding to the sudden onset of natural disasters. Under our partnership agreement for 2006-07, we contributed €1 million to the IFRC's disaster relief emergency fund, and we will contribute a further €2 million during the period 2008-09. This fund ensures that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to respond to emergencies.

Irish Aid also supports the UN's central emergency response fund, CERF, which, since its inception in 2006, has contributed over €52 million to the fund. CERF was established with Ireland's support specifically to facilitate rapid response to emergencies by pre-positioning funds for urgent humanitarian action.

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