David Norris (Independent)

There is a very big difference. One might say it is the difference between right and left. Senator Hannigan mentioned the meeting in Davos to me. At today's meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, I said it is obscene that the International Monetary Fund has dared to respond to the Haitian earthquake by offering loans to that impoverished country. Haiti has so much debt that it has all the qualifications for being exempted from some of it. The IMF is offering loans to Haiti to impoverish it further. That must not happen. Rather than giving loans to Haiti, the IMF should cancel its debt.

Senator Hannigan has suggested to me that the Minister of State should get on the telephone after he leaves this Chamber. He should instruct the Irish representatives in Davos to state that it is a shame that the IMF, in the midst of this catastrophe, continues to expect Haiti to make repayments. How and when will Haiti be able to repay its debts? The west's interference in Haiti destroyed the presidency and humiliated and beggared the people. We do not appear to have any sense of our moral debt to that country. We owe it to the people to Haiti to cancel its debts.

I am proud of the Irish contribution to the relief effort, particularly the two women I have mentioned. As I said at this afternoon's committee meeting, I neither know nor care what their religious complexion is. However, I know, on the basis of my understanding of Christianity, that they are true Christians. We need to live up to their standards. We can help with the reconstruction of Haiti. It must be reconstructed properly, however. Denis O'Brien's Digicel house should not have been the only building to survive the earthquake. It should have been the case that 75% of the buildings in Port-au-Prince survived the earthquake, rather than 75% of them being devastated. I am proud of all the Irish organisations. It is wonderful that Aer Lingus has got involved as it has done.

While I honour the good work that has been done in Haiti by members of the armed forces of the United States and Israel, we should show a little caution. I am worried that the various countries are not acting in a co-ordinated way. Each country seems to be acting for itself. An Italian earthquake expert was quoted in the media the other day as saying that a "bella figura", or beauty parade, was taking place. People should not be allowed to use the aftermath of the earthquake to massage their image. The United Nations should ensure that a single person or small group of people is charged with the co-ordination of the relief effort. If that is not done, the response will be patchy. Aid agencies are competing and bidding for the parts of the city they want to work in, while large sections of it are not covered at all.

Life expectancy in Haiti is 59 years. The HIV-AIDS rate is 5.6%. Some 40% of Haitian households experience food insecurity. We need to do something serious about the current situation in Haiti. I would like to say, in the presence of Her Excellency, the Cuban ambassador to Ireland, that I was most interested in a reference to Cuba in a document published by the European Union Institute for Security Studies:

Haiti matters in the Caribbean. It is the most populated country in the archipelago and its closeness to Cuba makes it an appropriate place to launch operations or to monitor its anti-US neighbour. In short, cynics will say that sending marines to Port-au-Prince probably serves several purposes.

It is clear that from an American point of view, it is very useful to have troops saturating the island.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me his percussion. I welcome the motion before the House. I understand that no amendment to the motion has been proposed. The motion can be agreed unanimously and wholeheartedly. I hope Senator Hannigan will pursue the idea of contacting the Irish officials in Davos. He mentioned the idea to me this afternoon after I had spoken about the need to cancel Haiti's debt. It is a wonderful idea. I hope Senators on all sides of the House will support it.