Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On my own behalf and that of my fellow Senators I welcome to the House Ms Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Twenty-four hour media coverage means that we cannot fail to be aware of the devastation caused by natural disasters around the world, including the very recent extreme weather events in the US, such as the tornado in Oklahoma two weeks ago and Hurricane Sandy on the US east coast last October, the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China or the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

Benjamin Franklin once said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. While many disasters are inevitable and it is impossible to eliminate all risk, the loss of life and damage caused can be mitigated if we have adequate disaster and risk reduction strategies and plans. As the United Nations has pointed out, there are many technical measures, traditional practices and public experience that can reduce the extent or severity of economic and social disasters.

In November 2008 the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed Ms Margareta Wahlström as the first Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction. Ms Wahlström is based in Geneva and heads the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. The international strategy for disaster reduction reflects a major shift from the traditional emphasis on disaster response to disaster reduction and in effect seeks to promote a culture of prevention.

Ms Wahlström has more than 30 years of extensive national and international experience in humanitarian relief operations in disaster and conflict areas, and in institution-building to strengthen national capacity for disaster preparedness, response and for risk reduction. The oft-quoted phrase "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail," is one of Benjamin Franklin's many pearls of wisdom. It is through the work of people such as Ms Wahlström that globally we are not failing to prepare. Instead, we are planning, organising and readying ourselves to deal with problems caused by disasters before they arise. Given this hugely important role, I am delighted to welcome Ms Wahlström to Seanad Éireann and now invite her to address this House.