Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 17: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the degree to which he and his EU or UN colleagues continue to engage in follow up support for Haiti and or other locations of recent natural disasters worldwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21028/10]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 24: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures he has taken to support the Haitian people in developing the necessary capacity to rebuild their country in the vital areas of housing, social and physical infrastructure, urban and spatial planning and shelter advice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21031/10]

Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 54: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the commitments entered into at the International Donor's Conference on Haiti in New York; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21032/10]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 59: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the funding allocated to assist in relief following the Haiti earthquake; the organisation or person to whom this funding was given; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20872/10]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 24, 54 and 59 together.

The International Donors' Conference, The International Donors' Conference, Towards a New Future for Haiti, which was held in New York on 31 March, signalled in very strong terms the commitment of the international community to supporting the Government and people of Haiti in rebuilding their country after the devastation of the January earthquake. The conference mobilised more than US$9 billion in funding for Haiti's recovery and future development.

Both the UN and EU remain at the centre of the international community's response to the earthquake, addressing the immediate basic needs of those who lost everything in this tragedy and assisting the Haitian Government as it works to implement its Action Plan for National Recovery and Development.

I represented the Government at the New York Conference and pledged €13 million over three years towards relief, recovery and development in Haiti. This includes €1 million towards the cancellation of Haiti's remaining debt to the World Bank. In my statement in New York, I also highlighted the generosity of the Irish public in contributing millions of Euro to emergency appeals, as well as the role played by Irish NGOs.

The total value to date of the Government's contribution in response to the Haiti earthquake is approximately €4.5 million, incorporating both in-kind assistance and direct financing.

In-kind assistance to Haiti included the airlift of more than 130 tonnes of shelter, water and sanitation equipment from our emergency stockpiles, representing Irish Aid's largest ever humanitarian airlift. These emergency relief items were distributed through three of our NGO partners, Concern, Goal and Trócaire.

The Irish Aid contribution also includes the deployment to date of nine members of Ireland's Rapid Response Corps. These highly skilled volunteers have been supporting the emergency operations of organisations such as the World Food Programme, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Concern and Goal.

Direct emergency funding allocated by Irish Aid in response to the earthquake has amounted to more than €3.2 million and covers a range of sectors, including sanitation, child protection, education, cash for work and agricultural recovery. Funding has been provided through three groups of partners: · UN agencies, specifically the World Food Programme; UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; UN Food and Agriculture Organisation; UN Environment Programme; and UN Human Settlements Programme; · The International Federation of the Red Cross, in support of the Haitian National Red Cross; and · NGOs, specifically Christian Aid, Concern, Goal, Haven, Plan Ireland and World Vision.

It is clear – not least because of the direct impact of the earthquake on personnel and infrastructure – that the Haitian Government will require technical and other support from international experts in order to fully discharge its responsibilities. Consequently, Irish Aid has allocated €200,000 to the UN Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, for the provision of technical and secretariat support services to the Haitian Government, to assist them and build their capacity in areas such as housing, social and physical infrastructure, and urban and spatial planning. UN-HABITAT carried out an extensive analysis of the urban spatial and planning requirements of Port au Prince prior to the earthquake and had already identified areas where improvements needed to be made to ensure a safer city.

Finally, the UN and EU continue to provide humanitarian support in a wide range of other disaster contexts worldwide, including both natural disasters and conflict-related emergencies. Natural disasters to which both the UN and EU have responded since the start of the year include the earthquake in Chile and recent flooding in Peru.