Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his initiative, announced at the Royal Irish Academy on 18 November 2005, to establish two organisations to assist the developing world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39310/05]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his Department will be engaged in the operation of the proposed new volunteer corps unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36767/05]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his proposals for the establishment of a voluntary humanitarian corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39196/05]

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the voluntary humanitarian corps will be available to offer assistance to countries or regions in crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39197/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54, 76, 107 and 122 together.

Last month, I announced two initiatives to coincide with the Government's decision to make substantial increases in Ireland's programme of official development assistance over the coming years. These are, first, to establish a rapid response initiative with the aim of strengthening Ireland's contribution to emergency and disaster response in developing countries and, second, to facilitate and harness the vibrant volunteering spirit which is thriving in Irish society today.

Disasters such as the tsunami of 26 December 2004, the Niger food crisis, the impact of the hurricane season in the Caribbean and, more recently, the Pakistan earthquake have all served to direct public attention towards natural and man-made disasters and the international response. It is clear that the international community could respond more effectively to such disasters and crises. At EU level I have pushed for a stronger Union response. Ireland is one of the world's highest per capita contributors to global humanitarian crises by members of the public. Furthermore, Government funding to humanitarian action is set to increase substantially in the near future as the aid budget increases.

I wish to deliver a more operational and value added response to humanitarian crises through a rapid response initiative. Specifically, opportunities for enhancing Ireland's existing crisis response capacity will include: the pre-positioning and transportation of humanitarian supplies to disasters by the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs — these supplies will be ready for deployment at short notice; a roster of highly skilled and experienced individuals, including from the Defences Forces, who will be available at short notice for deployment, with key national and international humanitarian response agencies and mechanisms, to situations of great need — further specialised training will be provided to these individuals; standby arrangements and support to highly regarded international humanitarian response agencies and mechanisms including the UN joint logistics centre, UN disaster assessment and co-ordination teams and the International Humanitarian Partnership.

These areas were amongst those identified in a recent study commissioned by my Department in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami which concluded that there were a number of niches available to Ireland where we could enhance our response to emergencies in developing countries. They also represent a further strengthening of the capabilities of our key partners through recognising the unique and primary role of the United Nations in disaster response. My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the Department of Defence to bring this initiative forward.

Turning to the volunteering area, I have also announced the creation of a dedicated volunteer corps unit within my Department. It will have a clear and straightforward mandate — to harness and facilitate the strong volunteer spirit, the interest in development work and the wide range of abilities that exists throughout the country. This will be achieved by: the establishment of a dedicated "one stop shop" to provide information to the public on opportunities for volunteering and to provide information on all aspects of Ireland's overseas aid programme — this facility will be in a highly visible and accessible location in the city centre, will be opened as early as possible next year and any individual interested in volunteering will be given information and advice on how best to get involved in development work; providing greater assistance to existing volunteering and development agencies, and identifying opportunities for more Irish individuals to work with groups such as the United Nations Volunteers Organisation — we will increase funding for development immersion type visits by young people and secondary schools, thereby building a new generation of advocates for the developing world. The new unit will also facilitate development partnerships between Irish companies and State agencies across all sectors with their counterparts in the developing world. My aim is to harness the skills of Irish workers in industry, education, the health sector and across the public and private sectors and facilitate matching their skills with needs in the developing world.

These two initiatives are aimed at bringing forward important aspects of public involvement in the aid programme. I wish to strengthen public awareness of, and buy-in to, this programme which is already justifiably praised internationally. I believe these initiatives will make an important contribution in this regard. Irish people should be justifiably proud of our overseas aid programme and genuinely feel a part of its efforts to reduce poverty worldwide.