Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 January 2013
65. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding Disaster Tech Lab; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3475/13]
View answerMy Department has been in communication with the individual referred to in the correspondence supplied by the Deputy on a number of occasions since August 2012. I initially wrote to the correspondent in August last year, the first of a series of replies. In this letter, I acknowledged his particular interest in the important work of strengthening access to ICT infrastructure in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. The individual specifically sought support from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for a contribution to attend a disaster response learning exercise in California. This correspondence was passed to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and while noting our interest in this area of work, I also explained to the correspondent that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is unfortunately not in a position at the present time to allocate financial support to the initiative.
In the same correspondence, I outlined some of the Department’s existing engagement with this area of work. In particular, I underlined that Irish Aid’s Rapid Response Initiative already works closely with the United Nations agencies through the Standby-Partnership Programme (SBPP) and Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) to support the UN in providing information management and communications systems in disaster settlings. I also explained that ICT specialists have been deployed to a number of humanitarian crises, including those in Haiti, the Philippines, Sudan, Cameroon, Kenya and Mali since the establishment of the Rapid Response Initiative in 2007.
In response to additional correspondence received late last year and referred to by the Deputy, I requested my officials to meet with the individual concerned to discuss his proposed activities in more detail as well as to explore ways in which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade could facilitate contact with key humanitarian partners. I expect this meeting to take place at a time convenient for the correspondent.
In the latest correspondence received, the individual is seeking financial support to attend a round table discussion on innovation organised by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency in the White House in February 6th 2013. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is unfortunately not in a position at the present time to allocate financial support to requests for travel expenses and capacity building support.
