Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 November 2005
28 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied regarding the adequacy of the disaster relief effort in Kashmyere; if through the EU or the UN, the efforts will be improved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33525/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra50 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding Irish humanitarian aid to the parts of south Asia effected by the recent massive earthquake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33572/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra62 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his contact with the Heads of Government of Pakistan and India following the recent earthquake tragedy in that region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28676/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra64 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the figure for the appeal made by the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan in the wake of the earthquake in Pakistan; the pledges made by Government’s and international institutions; and the amounts provided as a proportion of pledges made and aid sought. [33499/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra90 Mr. G. Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether the response time to natural disasters and other emergencies from the United Nations should be significantly improved in view of the experience with the recent earthquake in Pakistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33528/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra137 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which it has been possible to respond effectively to the needs of the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan; if he is satisfied that everything that could be done has been done in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33693/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 50, 62, 64, 90 and 137 together.
The earthquake which struck south Asia, particularly Pakistan, on 8 October has had devastating consequences. The unusual shallow nature of the quake caused widespread structural damage and current estimates put the dead at over 70,000, including 17,000 children. It has been followed by some 900 aftershocks, one of which recently measured over six on the Richter scale.
Following the disaster, the Taoiseach wrote both to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, and the Prime Minster of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, to express condolences on behalf of the Government and to assure them that Ireland is ready to provide aid to those affected by the earthquake.
President McAleese wrote to President Musharraf of Pakistan and President Dr. Abdul Kalam of India to express her sympathies, and those of the Irish people, to the Governments and peoples affected by the tragedy.
As Minister with responsibility for development co-operation and human rights, I have remained in contact with the ambassador of Pakistan to Ireland, H.E. Mr. Toheed Ahmad, in the weeks following the disaster. I have also been in close contact with our key NGO partners and with the Pakistani community in Ireland, which has responded with enormous generosity to this appalling tragedy. Officials from my Department and in missions abroad are in close contact with UN agencies, the International Federation of the Red Cross and NGOs on the ground regarding the situation there.
Ireland was among the first countries to respond to the disaster. Within a few hours of the earthquake, €1 million was pledged towards immediate relief efforts in northern Pakistan and the surrounding regions. As the casualty figures rose dramatically, our response was increased to €5 million, placing Ireland as one of the highest donors to the disaster on a per capita basis. Ireland’s rapid contribution has been warmly and broadly welcomed.
The updated UN Flash Appeal for the region has called for nearly $550 million in funding for immediate relief needs. A little over €130 million has been pledged to date. Some of the pledges made by donors have yet to materialise into confirmed contributions. Even if all the pledges are confirmed, that still leaves a very considerable shortfall. I support President Musharraf's call for more generous assistance, specifically from Islamic, EU and OECD states. I am pleased to report to the House that Ireland's pledge to the disaster has been fully committed. It is essential that pledges are honoured so that vital assistance can be delivered to save lives.
Approximately €1.5 million of our assistance has been allocated to key UN humanitarian agencies, including UNICEF and the World Food Programme, WFP. Over €2.5 million has been allocated to non-governmental organisations, NGOs, such as Concern, GOAL, Oxfam, Plan Ireland and Trócaire, which are active in the provision of essential services on the ground. These services include the provision of food, health services, shelter, water and sanitation.
The disaster is, logistically, one of the toughest challenges faced by the UN and the international community. Some 15,000 villages were affected and many are in areas which are difficult to reach. We are continually monitoring the situation in the region and officials from my Department will conduct a mission to the areas affected to meet with our partners on the ground and to assess the situation at first hand.
Our key objective is to save lives. In the longer term, we will assist with restoring livelihoods and working towards recovery. As I have told the House during the recent special debate on the south Asia earthquake, Ireland will continue its support for the victims of this humanitarian disaster through the long recovery period that lies ahead. While the immediate focus remains on emergency relief, Ireland will be represented at the forthcoming reconstruction conference which will be convened by the Government of Pakistan on 19 November in Islamabad.
The number and scale of natural disasters this year reinforce the need for global resources to be mobilised and deployed rapidly to bring humanitarian relief on a large scale to anywhere in the world. Ireland has been actively focusing on how we can better respond to such emergencies. Internationally, Ireland supports the enhancement of the UN's central emergency relief fund and I have pledged €10 million to that end. This will create a new grant-based fund that will allow UN agencies to respond more immediately and effectively in the face of a sudden on-set disaster.
Work is also continuing at EU level to improve civil protection and rapid response capability through the tsunami follow-up action plan. The further development of rapid response capacity must complement and support the UN's primary role as co-ordinator in humanitarian disasters. At the national level, we are examining ways in which the Government's response to disasters and emergencies can be enhanced through a more operational role.
On the contribution of other donors, the UN financial tracking system maintains information on donors' contributions to UN appeals and more broadly on donors' contributions to particular emergencies. According to the information available to my Department on the south Asia earthquake, the per capita donor contribution to date is set out in the following table.
|
Country |
Population |
Contribution € |
% |
|
Qatar |
860,000 |
20,000,000 |
23.26 |
|
Sweden |
9,000,000 |
18,801,000 |
2.09 |
|
Ireland |
3,600,000 |
5,000,000 |
1.39 |
|
Norway |
4,600,000 |
4,267,000 |
0.93 |
|
Denmark |
5,400,000 |
4,839,000 |
0.90 |
|
Netherlands |
16,400,000 |
12,056,000 |
0.74 |
|
Switzerland |
7,500,000 |
3,274,000 |
0.44 |
|
Canada |
32,800,000 |
12,983,000 |
0.40 |
|
Australia |
20,000,000 |
7,675,000 |
0.38 |
|
United States |
295,700,000 |
97,044,000 |
0.33 |
|
Finland |
5,200,000 |
1,202,000 |
0.23 |
|
Japan |
127,400,000 |
24,340,000 |
0.19 |
|
Belgium |
10,400,000 |
1,965,000 |
0.19 |
|
United Kingdom |
60,400,000 |
10,665,000 |
0.18 |
|
Turkey |
69,600,000 |
10,254,000 |
0.15 |
|
Greece |
10,700,000 |
1,574,000 |
0.15 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
26,400,000 |
3,263,000 |
0.12 |
|
Austria |
18,200,000 |
2,236,000 |
0.12 |
|
Italy |
58,100,000 |
6,929,000 |
0.12 |
|
Malaysia |
23,950,000 |
2,380,000 |
0.10 |
|
Germany |
82,400,000 |
7,715,000 |
0.09 |
|
France |
60,650,000 |
3,606,000 |
0.06 |
