Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 115: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the equipment that is available to the rapid response corps; the location of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7082/10]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 142: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of members in the rapid response corps; the specialties of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7080/10]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 148: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will put in place a plan to co-ordinate a non-military quick response group to ensure civilian resources such as nurses, doctors, fireman and policemen to be mobilised and transported quickly from Ireland to disaster zones anywhere in the world. [7241/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 115, 142 and 148 together.

The Government established a Rapid Response Initiative following the 2004 Tsunami in order to build Ireland's capacity to respond quickly to humanitarian crises and to provide a mechanism for the seconding of skilled volunteers to humanitarian organisations in emergency situations. The Initiative involves the establishment of a Rapid Response Corps, together with the pre-positioning of stocks of humanitarian supplies.

The Rapid Response Corps is a roster of skilled and experienced volunteers who make themselves available to deploy at short notice to work in humanitarian emergency situations. At present, there are 130 people on the roster, with specialised skills in logistics, engineering, public health, humanitarian coordination and protection. Most have previous experience of humanitarian and development work abroad. Individual members of the Corps are deployed at the request of the UN and other humanitarian organisations which have identified a need for their specific skills.

Skills in the Corps can be broadly divided into several categories. There are 50 volunteers with humanitarian skills; 20 in the areas of engineering and environment; 13 in logistics; 12 in protection; 11 in public health; and 24 with skills in other areas. Since 2007, there have been more than 60 deployments of the Corps to more than 20 countries. Members of the Corps are at present working in Afghanistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

Membership of the Corps is open to members of the public. The Department of Foreign Affairs is planning a new recruitment campaign, beginning in March of 2010. In advance of this campaign, Irish Aid is examining the possibility of expanding the range of skills within the Corps.

One of the important lessons learned from the international response to the devastation caused by the 2004 Tsunami was that the mass deployment of volunteers, while well-intentioned, can often hamper relief efforts. The Rapid Response Corps has been designed to provide highly-specialised skills as rapidly as possible, as and when requested by those leading the relief effort. This model is regarded as best practice internationally in responding to humanitarian crises.

The second element of the Rapid Response Initiative is the stockpiling of humanitarian supplies at three United Nations Humanitarian Response Depots, in Brindisi in Italy, Accra in Ghana and Dubai. These three international depots are part of a UN network which provides storage, logistics support and services for humanitarian supplies. The network is operated by the World Food Programme and used by Governments, UN Agencies and NGOs to store humanitarian supplies for rapid deployment.

The type of equipment which Ireland has stockpiled includes tents, blankets; plastic sheeting, soap, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, large water tanks and jerry cans. In recent weeks, the Government organised the transport of more than 130 metric tonnes of supplies to Haiti from these stocks, our largest-ever humanitarian airlift. These supplies were sufficient to provide shelter, water and sanitation to more than 12,000 families.