Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I commend the Minister of State on the role he has played in Ireland's response to this terrible tragedy. We are not strangers to tragedy on a vast scale. It was asked in regard to the Great Famine why other people did not help us in our hour of need. Those who came to our assistance have since become part of our folklore. The full extent of this tragedy and its effect on the people of Haiti are beyond our human imagination. This is one of the reasons we have seen such generosity from the Government and people of Ireland.

The problems in Haiti will not be resolved in a few months or years. The March meeting to which the Minister of State referred will be important in this regard. I hope the urgency with which the meeting was arranged is an indication of the attention which will be brought to Haiti in the coming years but I fear the great powers will be distracted by other matters before long. I cannot imagine anything which could distract us from this tragedy. I see some good coming out of the earthquake, although I regret that it is at the expense of the people of Haiti. It is an exceptionally poor country which has been bedevilled by both national and international politics. While the tragedy could not have been avoided even if conditions there had been different, the possibility of recovery might have been greater. Outside actors, such as the EU and the United States, will only be able to intervene from a distance and recovery will be much slower in the absence of local structures. There was no sadder sight than the starving people of Port-au-Prince seeking help. As they were unable to restrain themselves, further penance was inflicted upon them. I do not blame anybody for this because order has to prevail.

If we can get a positive message from the disaster it is that we are working for peace rather than war. If countries which are able to declare wars and move aircraft and troops to flash points at very short notice brought the same urgency to bear on peaceful missions, they would make significant progress. I recall the television images of the invasion of Iraq, which were like a video game, and the bombs dropped on that country. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the early days of the invasion.

I do not want to score political points when I praise the Minister of State for his response. I hope we will find a mechanism to keep the issue alive. In many ways, people look to Ireland for symbolism. It is strange that we have never been responsible for hostile acts against other countries. We occupy an unique role in this regard. Our international status is as givers of assistance rather than invaders. We could prompt bigger powers to continue providing assistance to Haiti, which could take as long as ten years to rebuild. However long it takes, I hope we can help to bring change. I know the Government will, in each forum in which we are represented, stand up with strength of character, based on our own history, and ensure it never drops to the bottom of the agenda. We will not talk about tokenism but we will talk about conclusive investments and assistance. There is a lot to be said for the voluntary corps. If a structure is available to them, many people in this country would give part of their time and skills to help. That would be true of other countries, but it will only work if a proper co-ordinating body is in place.