I propose to take Questions Nos. 443, 445, 460, 475, 481, 483, 484 and 486 together.
The Government has allocated €20 million for the relief of the victims of the tsunami crisis. Some €10 million is additional funding to the budget for overseas aid announced in the Estimates for 2005. The remainder will come from the Government's emergency humanitarian assistance fund, which is specifically designed to be flexible to respond to disasters wherever they occur.
As far as disbursement of funding is concerned, approximately €9.5 million has been approved so far in response to requests from Concern; Goal; Christian Aid Ireland; Christian Children's Fund of Ireland, CCF; Oxfam Ireland; Plan Ireland; Trócaire; World Vision Ireland; the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF; the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR; the World Health Organisation, WHO; the World Food Programme, WFP; the Red Cross family and the International Organisation for Migration, IOM. Funding is also being provided to the UN for the co-ordination of the aid effort. Contracts are currently being processed and payments made.
Ireland's assistance is targeted at the neediest sectors of the populations in the affected region. The key areas being addressed are food assistance, shelter, livelihood rebuilding, care and protection of children, water and sanitation.
During my recent visit to the tsunami-affected countries I was accompanied by the chief executives of Concern, Goal, the Irish Red Cross and Trócaire. We witnessed at first hand the truly appalling scale of the destruction. The loss of life and destruction of property is immense. There is a clear and acute need for ongoing international assistance for the emergency and the recovery efforts afterwards, particularly in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The technical team appointed by the Government to visit Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand to assess the immediate and long-term needs of these countries post tsunami has just returned and has made a number of recommendations. As the region moves away from an emergency response to one oriented towards recovery and reconstruction, further funding will be made available as required. This will take account of the recommendations of the team and will be in line with emerging needs and priorities in the countries concerned. In addition, it is intended that the appointment of an envoy to monitor officially funded relief operations in Asia and to liaise with Irish Aid agencies on the ground will be announced in the very near future.
In response to a request from the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre, four members of the Defence Forces have taken up positions in transport and engineering operations in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to assist with the logistics of the aid operation.
It is essential that all development co-operation activities, including emergency relief, should be delivered, managed, tracked and monitored in the most transparent and accountable way possible. With emergency humanitarian assistance, such as that being delivered to the tsunami affected countries by all organisations, maximum access to information can only help the relief effort by facilitating openness, co-ordination and effectiveness. The involvement of civil society in the process is essential. A people-centred approach, combined with strong oversight by the international donor community and the governments of the affected countries, will provide the optimal basis for effective reconstruction. Ireland fully subscribes to the principles and practice of the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative, which aims to ensure best practice in all aspects of emergency relief.