Written answers
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Department of Foreign Affairs
Natural Disasters
5:00 am
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 18: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his view on the plight of Haitians in view of the recent widely reported failures of governance, the delays in the task of reconstruction, the health risks which are now being reported, and the request from the non-governmental organisation sector for urgent international assistance. [2859/11]
Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 27: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent of aid provided to Haiti by Ireland to date to help deal with the devastation from the earthquake in January 2010. [2908/11]
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 31: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs If he will provide a month on month account of the assistance, both financial and in terms of manpower, offered to the people of Haiti over the last year. [2880/11]
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 48: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the levels of assistance offered by Ireland to the people of Haiti following the natural disaster there of just over a year ago. [2879/11]
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 49: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he and his colleagues at EU and UN level have focused on the ongoing situation in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake; the extent to which the world aid programme is adequately focused in order to restore quality of life to some extent; if he has used his initiative to bring about a sufficiently co-ordinated effort on the part of the global community thereby illustrating the way such disastrous situations can be addressed rapidly, positively and effectively in a shorter time scale than appears to be the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2891/11]
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 169: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that international aid has been adequately directed and focused in the aftermath of the disaster in Haiti; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3228/11]
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 170: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he has with his EU and UN colleagues focused on the situation in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3229/11]
Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context
I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 27, 31, 48, 49, 169 and 170 together.
The earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 was the greatest disaster to hit the country in more than 200 years, killing more than 230,000 people and reducing the capital, Port au Prince, to rubble. Among the survivors, more than 1.3 million people were made homeless and forced to take refuge in makeshift camps. While the international relief effort has made much progress over the last 12 months, the scale of the devastation is far beyond that of comparable humanitarian emergencies. The quantity of rubble to be cleared is estimated at more than 20 times that left behind following the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001, which took more than 18 months to remove.
The relief operation has also been hampered by the hurricane season, the ongoing cholera outbreak, as well as political uncertainty. Issues around land title have also contributed to the delay in beginning large scale reconstruction as many of those who lost their homes did not own the land on which they stood. There has, however, been some progress with sanitation being provided to the temporary camps, more than two million litres of clean water being supplied daily and more than 30,000 transitional shelters having been constructed. While the number of homeless remains unacceptably high at 800,000, this is a substantial improvement on the situation in the weeks immediately following the earthquake.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the pace of progress at present is simply too slow to respond to the needs of the Haitian population. It is vital that the international effort, led by the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, make better progress in reconstruction while simultaneously addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of the population, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, children and people with disabilities
This parallel response has been adopted by the Government, through Irish Aid, in its approach to Haiti. During the immediate relief effort we concentrated on the provision of shelter and water through two humanitarian airlifts of emergency materials from our stockpiles. This was complemented by support to the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies for projects providing clean water and sanitation to those displaced in camps. Tens of thousands of people have benefited from the programmes. We have also provided vital technical skills via the deployment of fifteen members of our Rapid Response Corps.
In 2011 we will prioritise the protection of women and children, in response to ongoing concerns about their safety in the camps. In parallel, the Government contributed to the reconstruction effort in 2010 via a â¬1 million contribution to the Haiti Reconstruction Trust Fund. To date, Ireland has provided â¬8.6 million of the three year commitment of â¬13 million which I pledged on the Government's behalf at the Haiti Donor Conference in New York last March. A detailed breakdown of this funding and of our Rapid Response deployments will be made available to Deputy O'Sullivan and attached to the record of this Question. At the European level, latest information indicates that a total â¬522 million has been pledged by the European Commission and â¬330 million of this provided to Haiti to date. Total EU Commission and Member State funding provided to date is currently â¬780 million.
I saw for myself the conditions in which people are forced to live when I visited Haiti in July of last year. I remain convinced of the importance of the international community pulling together in a drive to make more sustainable progress in Haiti. Continued support will be needed in the months and years ahead if the Haitian people's efforts to recover from the events of last year are to be successful. Ireland remains committed to playing its part in delivering this recovery.
Annex 1
Ireland's Funding to Haiti and Deployment of Humanitarian Experts from Ireland's Rapid Response Roster 2010
January 2010
â¬2,110,556 disbursed
3 RRI Deployments
February 2010
⬠239,401 disbursed
4 RRI Deployments
March 2010
⬠1,119,600 disbursed
1 RRI Deployment
April 2010
â¬28,638 disbursed
1 RRI Deployment
May 2010
â¬1,954,250 disbursed
1 RRI Deployment
June 2010
â¬141,501 disbursed
2 RRI Deployments
July 2010
â¬39,228 disbursed
2 RRI Deployments
August 2010
â¬139,364 disbursed
September 2010
â¬127,162 disbursed
1 RRI deployment
October 2010
â¬31,517 disbursed
November 2010
â¬697,263 disbursed
December 2010
â¬1,311,565 disbursed
January 2011
1 RRI deployment
In addition, funding of â¬700,166 was provided by Irish Aid in 2010 to several Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as part of their work in Haiti. Since this funding was paid in tranches including funds for use in other countries, it is not possible to provide a monthly profile with regard to this funding.
No comments