Vol. 501 No. 1
87 Mr. M. Brady asked the Minister for Defence the requests, if any, the Government has received for assistance from the Honduras Government; and, if so, the plans, if any, there are to despatch Army personnel to the region to assist in infrastructural civil engineering projects. [5455/99]
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews, visited Honduras on 12 and 13 January and saw at first hand the damage caused by hurricane Mitch. Despite a remarkable clean-up effort by the Hondurans themselves, the extent of the damage, particularly to infrastructure, is still readily visible, including in and around the capital.
A major preoccupation for the Honduran Government is the rehabilitation of the productive sectors of the economy and employment creation. The Honduran economy is heavily reliant on the agricultural sector, and damage to the banana and coffee plantations was extensive. The Government of Honduras has appealed to the international community for assistance in the reconstruction effort. In this regard, the Minister announced the provision of an additional £200,000 in grants towards the emergency effort, bringing the total for humanitarian assistance thus far granted to the region to £750,000.
The Minister informed the Honduran Government of my decision to make available to the Agency for Personal Service Overseas – APSO – a group of volunteers from the Defence Forces to help in the construction of a medical centre and school in Santa Rosa Aguan destroyed by hurricane Mitch. Twenty seven Army personnel have been despatched to the area and are currently engaged on the construction projects.
