Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 167: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he and the international community are able to respond more rapidly to natural or humanitarian disasters throughout the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3226/11]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if any review has taken place at EU or UN level to address the issue of a more immediate response and focus in respect of international disasters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3227/11]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 168 together.

The international humanitarian system has undergone significant reform since the Asian tsunami of 2004. Important lessons have been learned in the intervening period regarding the shortcomings of the response to that disaster and major steps have been taken to improve the effectiveness, predictability and accountability of the system as a whole. Ireland has played an important role in this process in practical, financial and policy terms.

Together with a number of other like-minded donor countries, we have worked particularly closely with the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to put in place new systems to improve the way in which aid is delivered and to ensure that coordination on the ground is improved. Central to these efforts has been the establishment of the Cluster System, which brings together different aid agencies working in sectors such as shelter, nutrition, water and sanitation. The aim of this system is to minimise duplication and to provide for better information sharing between the agencies involved.

Another important development has been the establishment of the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which is a pool of funding held by the UN and which can be released within hours of a disaster. Ireland, which was one of the original advocates and drivers behind the creation of this fund, has contributed €76 million to it since 2006. Ireland also contributes substantially to a similar pooled funding mechanism run by the International Federation of the Red Cross known as the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). This provides immediate support to national Red Cross or Red Crescent societies in the aftermath of an emergency.

At EU level, there have also been a number of improvements in coordination between Member States and the European Commission, which between them make up the largest donor of development assistance in the world. The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, signed by the Presidents of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission in December 2007 commits the EU to working closely together to provide an emergency response based on need and to upholding the principles of good humanitarian practice, namely humanity, neutrality, independence and impartiality.

More recently, the European Commission has put forward a number of detailed proposals on ways in which to further strengthen the EU's disaster response capacity both inside and outside the Union, including through the development of an EU Emergency Response Centre to act as a centre for EU planning, monitoring and coordination as well as the drawing up of an inventory of Member State assets which could be made available in the event of a disaster. The Government strongly supports the Commission's efforts in this regard and will work with it and with other Member States over the coming months, in close consultation with the UN.

At home here in Ireland, Irish Aid has also made a number of significant changes and improvements in how it responds to humanitarian emergencies in recent years. For example and as already indicated, a large portion of our emergency funding is now pre-positioned with partner agencies for immediate release in a crisis. This reduces red tape and ensures aid can be disbursed in the critical hours and days following an emergency.

In addition, Irish Aid has developed a network of humanitarian stockpiles around the globe and close to zones vulnerable to natural or other disasters. This means that emergency supplies can be airlifted at short notice directly to where they are needed. We have also established the Rapid Response Corps, a roster of skilled and experienced volunteers who make themselves available to deploy at short notice to work in humanitarian emergency situations. The Corps currently comprises 155 individuals with specialised skills in logistics, engineering, public health, humanitarian coordination and protection. Individual members of the Corps are deployed at the request of the UN and other humanitarian organisations in need of their specific skills.

All of these new efficiencies mean that Irish Aid is in a position to respond more quickly to an emergency and to have an even greater impact than previously at a lower cost to the taxpayer.

Of course, the challenges involved in responding to humanitarian disasters remain enormous whether for Ireland or for the wider international humanitarian system. Every emergency presents a unique and new set of tests. Nevertheless, and as most observers now agree, the present system represents a major improvement over its predecessors. We are not complacent however and are therefore constantly working both internally and externally with the UN to improve our capacity to respond and to learn lessons from the exceptionally difficult and challenging emergencies which took place in Haiti and in Pakistan last year. Ireland will continue to play an active role in ensuring that the lessons we learn from each and every experience can contribute to an improved and more effective humanitarian response in future emergencies.