Aid agency chiefs are to personally call on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to send soldiers to the Indian Ocean to support relief workers, it emerged today.
John O'Shea, GOAL chief executive, said he would use a meeting with Mr Ahern tomorrow to privately demand the deployment of troops to help thousands of communities wiped out by the massive tsunamis.
Mr O'Shea has spent the past seven days demonstrating the need for military logistics and organisation to support the unprecedented cash donations from people and governments around the world.
"This is not a time for pussy footing around, we want to see the logistical might of the armies. Now is the time to show the same sort of concern that armies show when going to war," he said.
"We want governments to ensure that we will want for nothing, either now, in the mid term or the long term. We are hoping that the Government will be there for us, but it is even more important that we show real moral courage and send a contingent of troops."
Other aid agency leaders will also meet Mr Ahern tomorrow. Mr O'Shea said he would push for Irish troops to join British and American forces distributing aid and rebuilding communities.
At present 40 GOAL workers are on the ground helping emergency teams in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. They are also the only agency to have reached the isolated Andaman Islands.
Mr O'Shea said record numbers of people were contacting GOAL asking to join teams in the Indian Ocean, but he said the organised engineering skills of armies could prove the saviour of many thousands of communities.
It is understood, however, that the Government will wait for a request from the United Nations before committing soldiers.
The non-governmental organisations will also discuss how the €10 million pledged by the Government should be spent and how Ireland's aid programme could be best coordinated.
GOAL volunteers spent the afternoon walking in north Dublin collecting from the public. Within one hour almost €30,000 was raised with a single anonymous donation of €3,000 euro.
More than one thousand people gathered for a minute's silence and walk through Howth village before the collection began.
Irish charities confirmed the public's unprecedented response had pushed the amount raised for disaster relief efforts to near €8 million.
A fundraising weekend has also been planned for the end of the week. GOAL Sport Aid Weekend at grounds around the country has the support of both the GAA and the IRFU.