Written answers

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Department of Foreign Affairs

Disaster Relief

10:00 am

Photo of John DeasyJohn Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 84: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the ongoing support, in funding and personnel, he is giving the Haitian people 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. [27556/10]

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 401: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the follow-up in international aid for Haiti and other disaster areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30183/10]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 84 and 401 together.

The entire world was deeply moved by the plight of the Haitian people following the earthquake on 14 January. The devastation wrought and the impact on peoples' lives were made all the worse by the levels of poverty experienced by most Haitians.

The Government responded quickly to the events in Haiti by undertaking Irish Aid's largest-ever humanitarian airlift. More than 130 tonnes of emergency shelter, water and sanitation equipment were transported to Haiti on two DC10s and a Hercules C130 aircraft and were distributed by Irish NGOs Concern, Goal and Trócaire. More than 12,000 Haitian families received vital assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake as a result of this operation. The Government also provided emergency funding to UN and other humanitarian agencies working to save lives in Haiti. Lives were saved by our rapid response to this enormous natural disaster.

My colleague the Minister of State for Overseas Development, Deputy Peter Power, is visiting Haiti this week to assess the impact of Ireland's contribution to the relief effort and to discuss the recovery and reconstruction of Haiti with representatives of the United Nations. While in Port au Prince he will visit a number of Irish Aid-funded projects being implemented by development agencies, as well as meeting members of Irish Aid's Rapid Response Corps.

At an International Conference on the reconstruction of Haiti held on 31 March the Government 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. The Irish statement to this conference highlighted the generosity of the Irish public in contributing millions of Euro to emergency appeals, as well as the role played by Irish NGOs and others in addressing the humanitarian crisis. The International Conference mobilised more than US$9 billion in donor support for Haiti's recovery and reconstruction, including €1.2 billion from the EU. The international community, in partnership with the Haitian government, has established an Interim Commission to oversee the reconstruction effort and a Trust Fund, which will be managed by the World Bank.

To date direct emergency funding provided by Ireland in response to the earthquake amounts 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 humanitarian agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs such as Christian Aid, Concern, Goal, Haven, Plan Ireland and World Vision.

Because of the direct impact of the earthquake on personnel and infrastructure, the Haitian Government will require technical and other support from international experts in order to fully discharge its responsibilities. In response to this, 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.

The Government's contribution of in kind assistance via our humanitarian airlift exceeds €1.4 million. This also includes the deployment to date of eleven 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.

In addition to our direct support to Haiti, Ireland is a strong supporter of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund which has provided funding to Haiti as part of its remit to respond to humanitarian crises around the globe. Ireland has contributed €73 million to the CERF since it was established in 2006.

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