Rapid-response unit to be set up in wake of tsunami

The EU needed to ensure that its response to international disasters and emergencies was not like that of "headless chickens", Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has said.

Speaking at the publication of the report on Ireland's response to the Asian tsunami, he also said that an Irish rapid-response unit would be set up to respond to international disasters.

A volunteer corps was being established along with a "one-stop shop" to provide advice and information to people wishing to assist and a rapid-response unit at EU level, under the umbrella of the United Nations, was also planned.

Mr Ahern praised the public and official Irish response to the tsunami and the work of Irish NGOs, which he said were "way ahead of the posse".

But the EU response to the tsunami had not been as "focused or as co-ordinated as it should have been", he said. "The one country we saw on the spot and focusing on the job and doing most of the heavy lifting was the United States."

He acknowledged that the US already had people in the region, but they were "on the ground within 12 hours" following the tsunami, and journeys by convoys which would take 17 hours were done in 17 minutes by helicopter.

While individual EU states had put in assistance on a large and small scale, this was not as co-ordinated as it should have been. There was a need to ensure that people "are not going off like headless chickens, but that is what tends to happen".

The report, entitled The Tsunami: Ireland and the Recovery Effort, was written by the Government's special envoy, Chris Flood. It details the Irish official and public response to the tragedy on St Stephen's Day last year in which an estimated 228,000 people are now believed to have died.

Mr Flood, a former minister of state, said that it would take an estimated 10 years for the 12 affected countries to return to the state they were in before the disaster.

He said that, overall, €12 billion had been pledged internationally, although some of this did not arrive. The Irish Government gave €20 million and the public €80 million.

He emphasised the need for greater co-ordination for future disasters and said that Ireland should continue to support the special role of the UN in such emergencies.

Some 308,000 housing units were needed and major difficulties over land ownership had arisen because title documents had been swept away.

Minister of State Conor Lenihan said that the Irish rapid-response unit would be in place by the end of next year, on a phased basis. He too praised the Irish contribution, which he said was "virtually the best in the world".

The Chris Flood report is available at www.dci.irlgov.ie

The European Network report is available at www.dochas.ie