I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. All Members of the House will be anxious to indicate their sympathy for the Indian people who have suffered so greatly. Estimates of fatalities range from an initial estimate of 100,000 to lesser figures but nobody is certain of the final number. We should all be proud and supportive of the efforts of such organisations as Trócaire, Concern, GOAL and the Red Cross. I welcome the Irish Government's response, in approving £1 million in aid, to the Indian earthquake relief fund.
When the rescue teams leave, the huge task of looking after more than 300,000 people over the next four months will remain. It is important that logistical, technical and other support is provided to address such issues as the creation of the capacity to provide clean water, housing and other basic infrastructure. The total damage to this poor region has been estimated in the region of between $5 billion and $6 billion. Ireland's position on the Security Council enables us to advance further proposals at this stage which will be of assistance in the future. A rapid reaction force should be established to respond to natural disasters. It is also possible to anticipate many disasters such as earthquakes and a case can be made for assembling a better international logistical framework which would predict, prevent or respond to crises such as the recent one in India.
An appeal from one of the organisations involved in the provision of relief in India suggests that £35 would provide blankets for 12 children or water purification tablets for 100 families. A sum of £100 would provide six households with the wherewithal to rebuild their lives and £1,000 would provide shelter for 100 families. When we compare these figures to the amount of money spent on the production of armaments, a huge moral question is posed: if such small sums could make such a huge difference in response to a crisis, is it not time the international community invested greater technical and scientific intelligence in the provision of advice to people living along earthquake belts and in other areas of risk? While many of the rescue teams arrived in India very quickly, there is an unfortunate delay in the delivery of assistance. We, in Ireland, are fortunate in having agencies which regularly represent the spirit of Ireland abroad in response to emergencies such as the one in India.
It is obscene that so much of the world's scientific and technological intelligence is wasted on armaments when a tiny proportion, if deflected to the task of predicting disasters and developing intervention and response mechanisms, would make a huge difference to our common humanity.
