Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I would like to thank the Senator for raising this issue as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to this House the contribution Ireland is making to relief efforts following the recent earthquake in south Asia.

A strong and devastating shallow earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck south Asia on Saturday, 8 October. Its unusual shallowness caused widespread structural damage to buildings and bridges in the towns and most of the 15,000 villages in this remote, mountainous and politically sensitive area. The Kashmir region, in particular, was affected.

The sad facts are that casualty figures have now risen to more than 73,000 according to the Government of Pakistan. Estimates on the number of seriously injured are in excess of 79,000. It is estimated that more than 5 million people have been affected across the region, that 3.3 million have been made homeless, and that 1.1 million jobs have been lost. It is anticipated that those affected will be dependent on emergency relief for a six-month period.

Ireland has pledged €5 million to the emergency relief effort. This money has been allocated to UNICEF, the International Federation of the Red Cross, the International Organisation for Migration, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and to Concern, Trócaire, GOAL, Oxfam, World Vision and Plan Ireland.

Ireland is also liaising closely with other EU member states, in the co-ordination of material assistance through the European civil protection mechanism, which is the formal EU co-ordination mechanism for such assistance. The European Commission humanitarian office has committed up to €10 million in EU funding to the south Asian region to date.

While emergency relief remains the immediate priority, Ireland has publicly committed itself to assisting in the recovery phase. A reconstruction conference will be convened by the Government of Pakistan on 19 November. Ireland will be represented by former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs at this conference to demonstrate our commitment to assisting both the relief and recovery phases of this disaster.

With regard to the possibility of doctors from the Kashmir region, now working in Ireland, returning to the region to assist in the relief efforts, I would like to inform the Senator that a Department of Health and Children scheme of special leave with nominal pay has been in place for a number of years. This leave is granted to permanent professional staff, including doctors, for assignments abroad on disaster-emergency relief or development work in the public health service of developing countries. The foreign destination must be a recognised underdeveloped country, a disaster-emergency region or a developing country whose public health service is underdeveloped. The work must be under the auspices of one of a number of recognised Irish-international bodies involved in the provision of development services. Service under the scheme is reckonable for incremental credit and superannuation.

Both the Department and the Health Service Executive are open to individuals wishing to assist in the relief effort to apply under these arrangements. Any application regarding the crisis in Kashmir will be considered on its merits. I assure this House that the Government takes its responsibilities in times of humanitarian disasters very seriously. This was clearly demonstrated by Ireland's swift, generous and effective response to the earthquake on 8 October.