John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 395: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of people assigned to the Rapid Response Corps; the funding allocated to the Rapid Response Corps in each of the years 2008 to 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3724/08]

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Sixty four volunteers were invited to become members of the Rapid Response Corps in 2007 following a rigorous selection and interview process. Fifty two of this group completed their pre-departure training and checks in the past year, and seven of those have already been deployed to various humanitarian crises worldwide. A further member will be deployed shortly.

A new campaign to recruit further members will be launched in February. The campaign will seek to recruit volunteers with the logistics, engineering and humanitarian skills most requested, together with new skills profiles identified to us, by our partner agencies.

The level of funding assigned to the Rapid Response Corps will be dependent on the number of deployments of the Corps and the requested needs in the field. In 2008, it is estimated that the Corps will absorb approximately €1 million and the Deputy can be assured that the necessary funding will be made available to fund the Rapid Response Corps in the period to 2012.