Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 115: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the full extent of the support offered through the medium of international aid to the persons of Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake; the degree to which commitments entered into have been delivered; the full extent of the rehousing programme and social economic rehabilitation to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2598/12]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The devastating earthquake which struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 killed more than 230,000 people and injured 300,000 others. The earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas, left approximately 1.5 million people homeless and caused losses and damage estimated at approximately €5.9 billion.

Two years on, a massive and sustained humanitarian operation has yielded remarkable results. Almost a million people have moved from camps to homes. Under extremely challenging conditions, five million cubic metres of debris have been removed – half of the amount generated by the earthquake. 400,000 houses have been inspected for damage, and shelters have been provided for 420,000 people. Schools and hospitals have been rebuilt, and more children are being educated today than before the earthquake. These are significant achievements that should be recognised and fully acknowledged.

While it is important now to focus on longer-term development, we should remember that the humanitarian crisis in Haiti is not yet over. More than 500,000 people still live in camps, and a cholera epidemic continues to claim lives. The underlying structural challenges, including under-development and governance, also need to be addressed as we move from crisis to recovery.

Large-scale investment will therefore continue to be required in order to provide immediate relief and to rebuild housing, revitalize urban planning, reconstitute destroyed communities and develop new communities. While US $4.5 billion worth of assistance has been pledged by the international community, UN figures indicate that only US $2.38 billion of this has actually been disbursed to date. We will therefore continue to urge other donors to act on their commitments and to provide long-term, coordinated and predictable funding to help move Haiti from crisis to recovery.

For our part, we in Ireland have worked hard to meet our own commitments to the people of Haiti. Some 90% – or €11.5 million – of the €13 million pledged at the Haiti Donor Conference in New York in March 2010 has now been committed. We intend to meet our entire pledge in the coming months.

Irish funding has prioritised the needs of the most vulnerable populations, including women and children as well as the basic humanitarian needs of the population more generally. Support has been provided to UNICEF, Concern, Goal, Plan, World Vision and Haven in 2010 and 2011 for the provision of clean water and sanitation, shelter and housing to the affected population.

€1 million was also provided to the Haiti Reconstruction Trust Fund for projects managed by the World Bank in line with priorities agreed with the Haitian authorities.

Since the earthquake, there have also been 18 deployments of the Irish Aid-administered Rapid Response Corps to Haiti to assist in areas such as logistics, engineering and water and sanitation. Volunteers have deployed to work with organisations such as the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Concern Worldwide, Goal and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).