Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

In the first instance, we have learned lessons as a result of the tsunami and its aftermath and not least in the context of the emergency relief fund that is now in place and that is ready to be used when disasters of this nature occur. The prepositioning of supplies, etc., is also an indication of lessons learned.

The fundamental difficulty encountered in Haiti related to the infrastructural challenges that arose. I refer here to the collapse of physical infrastructure, namely, the port and so on, and the very real problems that arose early on in the context of getting supplies into the country. Of critical importance - we will be obliged to reflect further on how to deal with matters of this nature in the future - was the collapse of Government capacity in Haiti. Members of the Government there and officials from Government Departments were wiped out by the earthquake. This had a devastating impact in terms of the capacity to organise rescue and relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

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