Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Members on all sides for their contributions, which were extremely constructive and, in many cases, complimentary. It is very much appreciated by the Government, given that this is a non-partisan issue.

There were so many constructive suggestions that I would like to discuss every one of them, but time will not permit. Thus, I will discuss the two or three themes that were common to all contributions. The compliments to Irish Aid and my officials are much appreciated. They have been working flat-out over the past eight days to deal with this issue and make sure our response is comprehensive, co-ordinated, swift and decisive, and it has been all of those things.

The speed of the response from the international community was raised by all speakers. We must appreciate that no matter how quick a response is, it is never quick enough; it can never be instant. We must remember that the circumstances are unique: Haiti is a country that was already on its knees, with an extremely poor infrastructure which is simply incapable of absorbing the international response, although many countries desired to respond very quickly.

Both the UN and Ireland have learned lessons from previous disasters and have pre-positioned stocks around the world. The aid that was sent would not have arrived anywhere near as quickly if we had not done this. Deputy Timmins mentioned the Rapid Response Corps, which was established in response to the criticism, after the 2004 tsunami, that a huge number of people arrived on the scene at once and were falling over each other and generally getting in the way. What is needed in the immediate aftermath of a disaster is a small number people who are highly skilled in logistics, communications, medical treatment and so on, and that is what we have put in place. We have contributed a substantial amount of funding which the UN can draw down immediately, such as the OCHA and CERF funds, to which we have contributed €73 million.

Deputy Higgins raised the important issue, which was common to all contributions, of the role of the UN in this and future disasters. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, a military-style response was required and, thankfully, because of its proximity to Haiti and its shared history, the United States, with its military hardware and infrastructure, was able to respond quickly. I have no doubt the disaster would have been much worse were it not for the military infrastructure and the ability to respond quickly. If the disaster had taken place on the other side of the world that would not have been possible, and for this reason the UN must have a rapid response infrastructure. That point was well made. The role of the United States has been admirable and crucial in terms of saving lives.

Deputy Timmins mentioned the issue of aid agencies and I agree with many of his points. I do not think we can be prescriptive when it comes to our own aid agencies; they are, after all, voluntary and non-governmental organisations. Concern has been in Haiti for many years. This morning, I received a briefing from Tom Arnold, who has just arrived back from the area. He mentioned some of the same concerns that Members have about security in Haiti. It has been sometimes overstated and sometimes understated, but the situation is fragile. I will raise Deputy Timmins's views with Dóchas to see whether we can arrange for a more co-ordinated response from the aid agencies.

As I said, time does not permit me to go into detail on all the issues raised. However, there is one issue that we will deal with in the House again and again. When all the cameras are gone and the television crews have moved on to the next disaster, the people of Haiti will still need our help and support. I made this point forcefully at the European co-ordination meeting in Brussels on Monday. Rather than saying we will contribute €300 million or €500 million, we need to make a firm political commitment of solidarity with the people and ensure that we are there for the long haul to assist with long-term reconstruction. In Brussels, the French Minister of State for co-operation, Alain Joyandet, who had just come back from Port-au-Prince, said that such was the nature of the disaster, we would need to talk about building from scratch rather than reconstruction.

What we have heard from members of all parties today is that the Haitian people have our support and solidarity. The undoubted resilience that has been referred to repeatedly will be matched by a long-term commitment by the Irish Government and people.

See this speech in context