Written answers

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Department of Foreign Affairs

Rapid Response Corps

10:00 am

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the current deployment of the Rapid Response Corps; the nature and expected duration of each deployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27561/10]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's 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.

The Corps comprises 155 individuals with specialised skills in logistics, engineering, public health, humanitarian coordination and protection. Most will have worked extensively overseas in humanitarian and/or development settings.

Individual members of the Corps are deployed at the request of the UN and other humanitarian organisations in need of their specific skills. Those agencies and organisations have the requisite knowledge and experience to determine where gaps exist and how best to use the skills of the Corp members.

Since 2007, there have been 82 deployments of the Corps to more than 20 countries. Currently there are 13 members of the Corps on deployment, working for four different organisations in eight different countries. In addition, another five members of the Corps will be deployed in the coming weeks to Haiti (2), Niger, the Philippines and Sudan. Details on the current deployments are set out below.

Current Deployments

CountryAgencyStart DateEnd Date
ChadUNHCR27-Apr26-Oct
DRCOCHA12-Apr31-Jul
EthiopiaConcern24-Jun16-Aug
HaitiConcern05-May06-Aug
HaitiOCHA01-Apr30-Jul
HaitiOCHA20-Feb19-Aug
HaitiWFP28-Jun02-Sep
HaitiWFP19-Jun18-Dec
IraqUNHCR14-Mar10-Sep
KenyaUNHCR11-Mar10-Sep
KyrgyzstanUNHCR02-Jun01-Aug
SomaliaConcern24-May24-Nov
SomaliaUNHCR04-May03-Nov

Deployments Pending

CountryAgencyStart DateEnd Date
HaitiConcern12-Jul10-Sep
PhilippinesOCHA17-Jul21-Aug
HaitiConcern22-Jul21-Oct
NigerIrish Red Cross01-Aug30-Sep
SudanWFP09-Aug08-Jan 2011

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