Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Government I extend our sincere condolences to the people of Haiti and, in particular, those who lost loved ones in last week's earthquake. Our thoughts go out to the family of Andrew Grene, who tragically lost his life in the disaster while serving with the United Nations. The Government also extends its sympathy to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, and to the families of all UN personnel who lost their lives. We also extend our condolences to the family of the Concern employee killed in the disaster and express our sincere hope that another employee reported missing will be found safe and well.

It is now more than a week since the catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti and it is clear that the death toll will be well over 100,000. The scale of the devastation is unimaginable, with most of Port au Prince and Haiti's other main cities almost completely destroyed. Few countries in the world were less equipped to deal with a disaster of this magnitude than Haiti. For the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless and those desperate for medical attention and life-saving aid, help cannot come quickly enough.

Ireland along with the rest of the EU, the UN and the international community is doing everything possible to provide assistance and ensure it reaches those who need it most. While many have given up hope for missing family members, search and rescue operations miraculously continue to find survivors. On Tuesday four people were pulled from under the rubble by international teams. Yesterday a ten year old girl and her eight year old brother were found and there are reports that a five year old boy has been pulled from the ruins of his home by his uncle. Many hundreds of lives have been saved by rescue teams, both local and international, who are working tirelessly to free those trapped inside collapsed buildings.

Inevitably, however, over the coming days the focus in Haiti will move from the search and rescue phase to trying to address the needs of those left homeless by the earthquake. Millions have lost their houses and many others whose homes are still standing are too afraid to return for fear of the after shocks. Medical treatment for the injured is vital. Facilities are improving as field hospitals arrive, and with them more doctors and medical supplies, but the needs are still overwhelming. I thank Deputy Kenny for his constructive contribution on the Order of Business and am pleased to inform him that Irish Aid has been working closely with the Department of Defence since the disaster struck. Two members of the Defence Forces have joined the technical team which was deployed to Haiti to assess our response. Officials from Irish Aid have been in contact with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to examine how the participation of Irish medical professionals can be facilitated. The technical team will make recommendations on how we can best contribute to relief efforts and Deputy Kenny's helpful proposal will be incorporated into our response. The risk of infection from delays in carrying out surgery and the spread of disease is enormous and must be dealt with if thousands of further deaths are to be avoided in the coming weeks. The fact that the rainy season is due to begin in March means that the international community has only a limited time to address these issues and avoid a public health catastrophe.

I pay tribute to the response of the Irish people to the events in Haiti. The public has demonstrated an extraordinary level of generosity in supporting appeals from NGOs and UN agencies over the past few days. Millions of euro have been donated at a time when many people are feeling the effects of the recession, have lost their jobs or saw their salaries reduced. This level of generosity towards and solidarity with the people of Haiti is something of which all of us in Ireland can be proud. My own Office has received many calls from members of the public asking how they can help. I commend each and every member of the public who has contributed. Their support will mean the difference between life and death for many of those suffering the effects of this disaster.

I pay particular tribute to the many Irish people working in Port au Prince and elsewhere in Haiti to distribute aid, provide medical attention and, wherever possible, to save lives. Irish people are daily risking their personal safety to bring relief to the Haitian people. All of those working with the UN, NGOs or as part of private initiatives deserve our recognition and thanks.

I am pleased to report to the House that the Government's response to this disaster was swift and decisive. Within hours of the earthquake, Irish Aid was in contact with NGOs such as Concern and Goal to make emergency funding available. Our mission in Geneva and our emergency and recovery unit were in communication with the UN from the early morning of 14 January to assess the scale of the disaster and likely needs. By lunchtime of that day, we had pledged €2 million to support the initial emergency relief effort. Of this, €1 million was allocated to a United Nations emergency appeal for Haiti, of which €300,000 was immediately paid out to the World Food Programme and the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, respectively, the latter of which is co-ordinating the international relief effort. A further €250,000 was paid out to the Red Cross and the remainder of the funding is being channelled through NGOs such as Concern and GOAL.

Irish Aid, the Government's overseas aid programme, has freighted 84 tonnes, or 16 lorry loads, of emergency equipment to Haiti. These were transported by air to Santo Domingo from our emergency stockpiles and then by road to Port-au-Prince, where they arrived last night. Included in the shipment are plastic sheeting for emergency shelters, blankets, kitchen sets, jerry cans and large containers for water storage. In total, we have provided enough supplies to shelter up to 8,000 families and to provide them with the water and basic infrastructure needed for survival. The supplies will be distributed by the Concern and GOAL operations in Haiti. I take this opportunity to compliment the work carried out by these and other Irish aid agencies working in Haiti.

Three members of the Irish Aid rapid response corps have deployed to Haiti. These are an electrical engineer and an information technology expert, who have been assigned to the World Food Programme, and a security consultant who will work with GOAL. Corps volunteers provide highly specialised skills to humanitarian agencies operating in crisis situations and can be deployed within days or even hours of a disaster. Other corps members with specialised skills in engineering, logistics and water and sanitation are on stand-by and we expect them to be called upon in the coming days and weeks.

We have also dispatched an Irish Aid technical mission to Haiti, supported by a member of the Defence Forces, to assess how Ireland can best contribute to the international relief effort and to make recommendations as to how we should direct our funding. The team will advise me on the short and medium-term needs in Haiti and will liaise with the organisations we are already supporting to ensure that Ireland's contribution is managed in a co-ordinated and effective manner. Our team arrived last night and has based itself at the airport in Port-au-Prince.

The total value of the Government response both financially and in kind is almost €3 million and there is every possibility that this figure will increase further once we have a clearer and more comprehensive picture of Haiti's needs. This figure is in addition to our ongoing contributions to the United Nation's central emergency response fund which was established following the 2004 tsunami to provide the United Nations with a ready pool of emergency funding for crises such as that in Haiti. Within days of the earthquake, the United Nations drew down US$25 million to fund the international relief operation and this money has already begun to make an impact. Ireland was one of the countries which pressed for the establishment of the fund. We have contributed €73 million since it was set up in 2006, including €20 million last year. We can be proud that our funds are helping to save thousands of lives in Haiti, as they have in other disaster areas throughout the globe.

The Government and my Department drew many lessons from the 2004 tsunami. In the aftermath of that enormous tragedy we reflected on how we, on behalf of the Irish people, could respond more quickly and effectively to future disasters. We identified those parts of the system which could be improved and put in place the structures that allowed us to react quickly to the Haiti disaster. For example, we established the rapid response corps to meet the need for highly specialised skills in a major emergency and to harness the significant talent and volunteer spirit which exists in Irish society. We developed emergency stockpiles of humanitarian materials in depots around the globe, precisely so that we could react as we have done. Thousands of people in Haiti are receiving lifesaving supplies as a result of this initiative.

The Irish response is part of a combined European Union relief effort in Haiti totalling €122 million. This was agreed at an emergency meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council which I attended in Brussels on Monday. In addition to this financial support, the Union is providing 400 rescue workers from a variety of member states, as well as field hospitals, medical posts and almost 300 medical personnel. At Monday's meeting I stressed the need for a unified, co-ordinated approach to the Haiti operation. I also called on our fellow member states to make clear to the people of Haiti that we would stand by them as they rebuild their country. I am pleased the European Commission has indicated it will contribute €300 million to the long-term reconstruction of Haiti. In addition, the European Union will convene or co-convene an international meeting on reconstruction once the initial humanitarian relief phase has run its course.

While there has been some criticism of the speed of the international response, the difficulties in getting supplies and workers into Haiti are substantial and have been exacerbated by the almost total destruction of its infrastructure. This was a poverty-stricken country before the earthquake with only the most basic transport and communication network. The little that existed was severely damaged, meaning the international relief effort has had to begin almost from scratch. The best means of transporting supplies is by sea, but the main port was badly damaged and until last night completely closed to shipping. Even now it has only extremely limited capacity. In addition, the airport at Port-au-Prince is small and ill-equipped for an operation of this size. The road from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince is of poor quality and extremely congested. While it is only 300 km long, the journey can take up to 18 hours and security escorts are required in places. Under these circumstances the response of the international community, led by the United Nations, has been commendable, although admittedly insufficient to meet Haiti's enormous needs.

The Haiti earthquake is a disaster that has shocked the entire world with its scale and intensity. The impact on an already vulnerable nation has been catastrophic and it will take many years for Haiti to rebuild itself. Ireland's response, whether through the provision of much needed funds, through our emergency supplies or our highly-skilled personnel has undoubtedly saved many lives and will continue to do so in the weeks and months to come. That said, it is inevitable that Haiti will continue to require the support of Ireland and the broader international community into the longer term as it rebuilds and slowly makes the transition from relief to development. The challenge for us, and for the rest of the world, will be to stand with the Haitian people during that difficult transition as they reconstruct their shattered lives and country. I am confident we will not be found wanting in that regard.

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