Irish charities excelled themselves in their response to the Asian tsunami, Minister of State Conor Lenihan said tonight as he opened an exhibition to show Trocaire's actions after the disaster.
The display, which will be open to the public from tomorrow in the aid agency's Cathedral Street resource centre in Dublin, aims to explain how the record €29 million euro the charity received has been spent.
The exhibition features introductions to the four countries and the effects the disaster had, with video and audio accounts by survivors of the tsunami.
It also shows, through photographs and written explanations, examples of the work the charity is doing, such as building 100 schools, providing fisherman with new boats and nets, and rehousing families.
Mr Lenihan said it had been a terrifying and harrowing year for many people in the developing world - because of the tsunami, as well as the food crisis in Niger and the earthquake in Pakistan.
"Non-governmental organisations excelled themselves in how they responded to this particular disaster," he said. "To do this exercise in having an exhibition of this type, is an exercise in accountability. "We must account for the enormous sums we spent - we in Government, the NGOs and everybody.
"I believe it's hugely important to account for the contributions we took and how we distributed it," he said. He added that people were becoming increasingly aware of development issues and said Ireland had an important part to play in global development.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who was at the exhibition's launch, said: "The extent of the generosity around the tsunami reaction imposed on us the need to be genuinely accountable.
"It's a good thing this exhibition is being done - people can see exactly what they contributed to. "It's a very simple exhibition, but as it moves around the country, it will show people what reconstruction is about," he said.
Trocaire hopes to take the exhibition to Belfast and to Cork. The charity received more than €27.7 million from the public across Ireland, with €21.8 million raised in the Republic and €5.9 million in Northern Ireland. In addition, €1.5 million was given by the Government, which pledged €20 million overall.
PA