Written Answers. - Aid to Central America.
Jack Wall
Ceist:
66
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he will make a statement on his visit in January 1999 to seven countries in the Central American region; and the plans, if any, he has to increase aid to the region particularly in view of the damage done by Hurricane Mitch.
[4364/99]
My visit to Honduras on 12-13 January enabled me to see 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.
Compared to the impact of the last major hurricane to hit Honduras (Hurricane Fifi in 1974), Hurricane Mitch was much more destructive because it remained stationary over the country for several days and its path was so wide that it covered practically the whole country. The equivalent of two years rain fell over 4-5 days. Most of the damage inflicted on the national road infrastructure, housing and agricultural sector was caused by the extensive flood waters and landslides.
A major preoccupation for the 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.
I informed the Honduran Government of the decision by the Minister for Defence to make available a group of volunteers from the Irish Army to help in the construction of a medical centre and school in Santa Rosa Aguan destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. The Army unit is now in place.
I was briefed by the heads of APSO, Trócaire, Concern and GOAL on their activities in Honduras. APSO and Trócaire, who were already active in Honduras before the Hurricane, have had to refocus their priorities in the short-term towards emergency work. While in Honduras, I 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 Government intends to remain engaged with the reconstruction effort and is open to providing further aid, especially for rehabilitation. With this in mind an Irish Aid technical team will leave shortly for the region. The Irish Aid team will conduct the necessary professional assessment of current and longer term needs so that decisions can be taken on how best we can contribute to the international reconstruction and rehabilitation effort.
I also visited Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda. These visits were intended to develop Irelands relations in the Caribbean, where we have a very low level of diplomatic representation. The visit was extremely useful in establishing a basis for political and economic cooperation with this region. Among the issues discussed with ministerial contacts were EU-ACP relations, preparations for the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1999 and the development of bilateral economic and diplomatic relations. I also took the opportunity to seek the support of these countries for Irelands bid for election to the UN Security Council in 2000.
