Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

It is obvious the crisis in Burma is escalating by the minute. Today we hear the Burmese authorities have isolated the cyclone disaster zone from the rest of the world. They have expelled foreign aid workers and put in place checkpoints along the roads of the Irrawaddy Delta.

When Cyclone Nargis, which was packing 190 km per hour, hit Burma it was a catastrophic blow for a country already the poorest nation in South East Asia. This disaster is worse than the 2005 tsunami and the full extent of it is hard to quantify. The military junta Government has admitted that the death toll has now reached 34,723, with a further 41,000 people missing. The Red Cross has reported today that the death toll has reached 128,000 with the UN reporting that 2 million people have been seriously affected.

The aid effort is being hampered by the failure of the Burmese Government to allow the international community to respond.

Only a trickle of international aid is reaching the 2 million people made homeless and only 35 flights have been allowed to land in Rangoon, one tenth of what is required. The logistics of getting aid to those most in need is not helped by the lack of experienced aid relief workers on the ground and is compounded by the country's poor infrastructure. Much of the worst affected area along the Irrawaddy Delta is flooded, bridges have collapsed and roads have been washed away.

Time is running out if we are to stop a greater disaster from happening, namely, the spread of diarrhoea and cholera as there is no clean drinking water or sanitation. More bad weather is on the way. The affected area of the Irrawaddy Delta is the rice bowl of Burma, the largest per capita consumers of rice in the world. This will have enormous impact on the supply of rice in Burma for the coming year.

Thanks to the international media — we must praise their reporting of this disaster — many of whom have had to run the gauntlet of the military, the true extent of this disaster is becoming clear. Human rights activists in Bogalay claim the Government has given no effective help, that it was busy clearing streets where the ruling elite lived, leaving the rest of the people to fend for themselves. They also claim that regional commanders have been putting their names on the side of aid shipments from other countries, saying it is a gift for them and distributing it in their region. This means the aid is not going to the areas where it is most needed.

We have all heard the grief stricken stories of survivors tinged with desperation as they struggle to avoid death themselves, for example, Ti Lin a farmer in the Bo Hin Hamlet, who has been looking for his wife and three daughters for six days or his neighbour San Po Thin who told of waking up to find his wife and two daughters washed away during the storm. An emergency meeting of EU development Ministers has agreed to support any initiative including in the UN bodies which would help to meet the humanitarian needs of the Burmese people. The EU Aid Commissioner, Mr. Louis Michel, landed in Yangon on Wednesday where he will be having discussions with officials for two days. He is also hoping to meeting with humanitarian aid officials in the worst affected area. The Thai Prime Minister met with the Burmese Prime Minister, Thein Sein, yesterday who ruled out any significant foreign presence on the ground.

As Deputy Timmins stated, it is extraordinary that in spite of the extent of the devastation in the aftermath of this cyclone Saturday's referendum on a new constitution proceeded. I understand voting in affected areas has been postponed until 24 May. The Burmese Government should be distributing aid and issuing visas to international aid relief workers to areas badly affected by the cyclone.

Some western Governments are of the opinion that aid should be distributed irrespective of the Burmese Government's views. Others are of the opinion that western aid should be redirected through regimes which are considered friendly to Burma. The UN has promised that an envoy will be dispatched to Burma. As Deputy Timmins correctly stated, the UN has an important role to play in light of today's news that the Burmese Government is forcing aid workers to leave the country.

I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, on Tuesday. I welcome his pledge of up €1 million for emergency relief. I would like to see an even greater pledge from the Irish Government. Also, we must ensure the aid is getting to those who are in need. This is a humanitarian crisis and the Burmese Government must put aside its suspicions and allow the international community to respond. The humanitarian crisis is like none other before and we are being frustrated in our efforts to assist those who need our help. I appeal to the Minister to do everything in his power to support the UN in its efforts to ensure its envoy is allowed access to Burma.

I sympathise with the people of Burma in this terrible crisis.

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