Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

We in the Labour Party welcome the provision of time to debate what has happened in Haiti. A disaster of this magnitude can only be dealt with by armies and professional aid agencies. When the genocide in Rwanda occurred, I chaired the European Council of Ministers. It is unfortunate that neither the United Nations nor other multilateral or international bodies have learned much about preparedness for events of the scale and magnitude of these disasters.

It is essential, at a time when ordinary people are donating large sums of money to the Irish aid agencies, all of whom are extremely experienced in these fields, that we also make a contribution to Haiti in terms of the Defence Forces. Assets of this capacity - the Defence Forces, the Fire Service and so forth - can help to deal realistically with a disaster of this magnitude. I welcome the opportunity to have a debate.

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