O'Brien hails Irish pledge to Haiti's reconstruction effort

BUSINESSMAN DENIS O’Brien has praised Ireland’s commitment to Haiti’s reconstruction efforts two years after its devastating earthquake.

On a panel in Davos with Haitian president Michel Martelly yesterday, Mr O’Brien said he was “heartened” that Irish Aid and the Government had kept up their funding commitments to Haiti.

“Despite the funding challenge, Irish Aid and the Government need to be congratulated for keeping it going. It’s such an important part of being in the global community,” he said.

Mr O’Brien’s local telecoms company Digicel is closely involved in the reconstruction efforts. Since the 2010 earthquake, the Digicel Foundation has opened 50 schools and has a further eight planned for the coming year.

Mr O’Brien said that the economic downturn was the “best time” to invest, and said there was much potential in Haiti.

“Your money goes much further. There are opportunities for Irish companies in emerging markets like never before,” he said.

Digicel has sponsored a top-rated programme on Haitian television to find new entrepreneurs.

“The response has been huge,” he said. “I used to think Ireland was an entrepreneurial place until I went to Haiti. Everyone is an entrepreneur there. Just before Christmas President Martelly went on the show to give the award to the overall winner; it was the highest rated television programme in Haiti.”

Digicel was a contributor to President Martelly’s presidential campaign last May and supports his free education initiative. Mr Martelly, in Dublin last night to present an award to an Irish aid worker, thanked the international community in Davos for its continued assistance.

“We have been hit by nature many times but we are fighters,” said the president. “We will come back with the kind of support I feel from the WEF and the partners that are here.”

Speaking after the panel discussion, Mr O’Brien said he understood the views of the Occupy protest movement against economic and social inequality which has set up camp at the forum. “Capitalism, the model, is broken at the moment and I support these Wall Street protesters,” said Mr O’Brien. “I support them. In such a benign world of protest people should be speaking out. We need to change the capitalism model and I think more and more people are saying the system is not working, we need to change it.”