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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 17 Nov 1999

Vol. 511 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Turkish Aid.

Dr. Upton

Over the past four months, north eastern Turkey has been devastated by two major earthquakes. The severity of these quakes has left more than 40,000 people dead, scores have been injured and many thousands are now homeless, trying to fight off the extreme winter temperatures under plastic sheeting.

In the face of all this devastation, the only offering from the Irish Government to date was £200,000 – a pitiful amount of money that would only purchase a few ministerial cars or go half way towards covering the projected telephone and postal bills of the Taoiseach for the coming year.

This morning, the Taoiseach went on the national airwaves pledging to the Irish people that he would make contact with the Turkish Prime Minister in an attempt to secure transmission rights to broadcast tonight's soccer encounter. I have no doubt that many Irish people would view the Taoiseach's phone call as a good move. However, I am sure the Turkish Prime Minister has more important issues on his mind than football. This week, hundreds of families are burying their dead following Friday's shocking earthquake. Many more families are wondering if they will ever retrieve the bodies of their relatives from the rubble.

During this time of tremendous grief for the Turkish people, the best phone call which the Taoiseach could have made to their Prime Minister would be one which pledged a substantial donation to their on-going relief programme for victims of the recent earthquakes. Such a phone call may not secure front page headlines for the Taoiseach in Irish newspapers, but it would go a long way in helping the displaced people to rebuild some kind of a life for themselves.

The search for survivors of Friday's earthquake is winding up. Anyone trapped under rubble would be dead by now so the rescue teams from Britain, Slovenia and Italy have decided to begin their journey home, but this does not mean that the work has been done. It will take many years before the families who have been displaced are housed again. In the interim, their basic needs of clothing, temporary accommodation and food must to be provided for.

Two weeks ago the Government was gung-ho about the impact which Ireland's troops could make on the international stage if they were part of Partnership for Peace. Turkey needs help now. The RAF and other EU army personnel are on the ground in north-east Turkey. Does the Government have any plans to deploy Army personnel for the purpose of the relief operation?

The £200,000 contribution which the Irish Government made to the Red Cross relief fund for the Turkish earthquake in August is grossly inadequate. In fact, it belittled the extent of the disaster which has taken place in that country.

We have an obligation to increase the ODA contribution. Yet again, in the pre-budget estimates for this year the allocation for ODA barely hovers above 0.3%. In the last year, despite our growing wealth, Ireland still drew down the high proportion of EU receipts. As a nation, we must learn to give as well as take. An announcement of additional aid to help with the Turkish relief project would be a start.

Since the weekend, most mentions of Turkey in the national media have concentrated on the match, the Turkish baths which Irish fans are enjoying and the row over the televising of the match. It is time that the plight of the devastated people of Turkey had their story told lest they be forgotten and, indeed, this Administration could conveniently forget about them too.

The Government welcomes this opportunity to update the House on the current situation in Turkey. Once again the people of Turkey have been faced with the trauma of a major earthquake which has devastated lives and homes. I share the Deputy's sense of irony that so much of today's public debate was on the match in Turkey and its transmission when most of my considerations, like those of the Deputy, related to the humanitarian disaster in Turkey.

On 17 August a massive earthquake hit the densely populated Marmara region in the north-west of Turkey. This was followed by hundreds of subsequent aftershocks, which continue to occur in the area. The Turkish Government declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance. The official death toll from that earthquake now stands at over 17,000 and the number of reported injured stands at almost 44,000. Currently 130,000 people are living in tent cities and a further 80,000 are living in ad hoc settlements.

The international response in the aftermath of the earthquake was both quick and generous. Search and rescue teams were despatched to the site of the disaster within hours. The initial emphasis was on searching for and rescuing those trapped in the rubble of destroyed buildings. As in any disaster, the overwhelming majority of all rescues, 95%, were carried out locally before the arrival of international assistance. The search and rescue teams were responsible for about 5% of the rescues in Turkey and were geared, in line with their mission, towards the most difficult recoveries. Aid flooded in from around the world from both government organisations and public donations, with over 46 countries providing assistance.

On 12 November a second major earthquake struck Duzce, a populated area of the Marmara region. Its epicentre was just 100 kilometres from Izmit, the centre of the earthquake in August. Building on their experience in August, the Turkish Government response was quick. Once again international search and rescue teams arrived at the site within hours.

Latest figures put the death toll from this most recent quake at 549, with over 3,000 injured. Duzce had already been severely affected by the August quake. This most recent quake resulted in 80 to 90% of the remaining buildings being damaged. Currently, in Duzce, all of the survivors in the town are camping out, either unable or unwilling to return to their homes due to damage because of the fear of aftershocks.

The Irish Government has been to the forefront in providing humanitarian aid to the victims of these disasters. We co-ordinated our response with the aid flowing in from other countries and concentrated on meeting the priority needs of the thousands of injured and homeless. Since the first earthquake in August, Ireland has provided £700,000 in humanitarian assistance. The following specific grants have been provided. An initial grant of £200,000 was made in the immediate aftermath of the disaster to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent to enable them to purchase essential supplies such as food, water and any medicines available locally. This was the most effective way of ensuring appropriate assistance quickly. It is quicker and also helps the local economy which is suffering badly. The sum of £50,000 was then allocated to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which assists the Turkish Government in co-ordinating the relief effort. The sum of £150,000 was granted to UNICEF for the provision of water and sanitation and also to supply humanitarian goods such as bedding, fuel and medicines. At the request of the Turkish Government, £190,000 was used to purchase in Ireland medical supplies and water purification tablets which were unavailable in Turkey. Over four tonnes of these goods were transported to Istanbul at no cost by Aer Lingus and Turkish Airlines. The sum of £75,000 has been made available this week to the United Nations Development Programme which has a shelter programme addressing the needs of those left homeless by both earthquakes. A further £75,000 has been given to UNICEF this week for its recent appeal which will address the nutritional needs of children and pregnant mothers living in shelters and provide materials for tent schools. Both UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme are also providing tents, sleeping bags, generators and stoves in response to those left homeless by the most recent earthquake. In terms of the provision of human resources, while Ireland has considerable search and rescue capability, we do not possess the specialised training that is required in earthquake situations.

The European Union, on behalf of the member states, has also responded generously. The European Commission via the European Community Humanitarian Office announced an initial grant of 2 million euros in emergency humanitarian assistance just hours after the earthquake. A further grant of 2 million euros was made available as needs became clearer. This is part of a planned 30 million euro package of assistance. ECHO is focusing on addressing the needs of the persons made homeless by the disaster, providing weather resistant shelter and ensuring basic medical care. An ECHO field expert has been posted to Istanbul in order to facilitate further assessments.

While the emergency response to the needs of the survivors of both quakes was quick and comprehensive, the Turkish Government now faces the formidable task of rebuilding the Marmara region. It is being supported in this by the international community. The immediate and long-term reconstruction effort in Turkey is being funded on a multilateral basis. The European Commission is proceeding with plans for new and substantial assistance for rehabilitation and reconstruction to come from European Investment Bank lending as well as macro-financial assistance and Mediterranean Assistance Development Programme funds.

Minister, your five minutes is concluded but if the House is agreeable, I will allow you to finish. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. It is proposed that loans of up to 600 million euros be provided to Turkey to assist in the reconstruction process. In addition, 150 million euros, earmarked as regional aid for Turkey, will be allocated to assist in the reconstruction effort. Substantial assistance is also being provided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

While the scale of these disasters has stretched available resources to their limits, Turkey is a developed country which has considerable resources with which to respond to the earthquakes. Turkey's large modern armed forces can be mobilised to assist relief efforts. The economy can support much of the relief and reconstruction efforts. Therefore, the role of the international community is to assist and facilitate the Turkish Government and people in their efforts to deal with their current problems.

In allocating funding I have taken into account not only the very clear needs in Turkey but also those elsewhere. Unfortunately, this is just one of a number of disasters, natural and man made, in recent months. Ongoing emergencies in East Timor, Central Africa, India and Chechnya, to name just a few, also require Ireland's attention. Ireland has given generously to these and will continue to do so as it becomes necessary.

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