€9m in further aid for tsunami-hit countries

Ireland is to continue providing aid to tsunami-affected countries in Asia for the next seven years, the Minister of State for Development Co-operation, Conor Lenihan, has said.

Six months after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami which killed 225,000 in southeast Asia, Mr Lenihan yesterday announced details of a further €9 million in aid for the region.

This brings the amount of Government aid for the disaster to €19.9 million, the largest emergency relief allocation made by Ireland. Mr Lenihan, who said he was satisfied that the aid given so far had been well spent, said Ireland was in the region "for the long haul".

"It is now six months since the tsunami struck. It may have left the headlines but the important work of recovery and reconstruction is continuing. Six months on, we also remember all the victims of the disaster, in particular the four young Irish people who died, as well as their friends and families."

The biggest single recipient of the money is Concern, which is getting almost €2 million to repair and rebuild water, sanitation, education and village infrastructure in affected parts of Indonesia. The rest is being channelled through a variety of Irish agencies and international bodies for projects in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and the Maldives. About €500,000 has been allocated towards a project to develop a tsunami early-warning system for the Indian Ocean and €50,000 towards the continuing forensic effort to identify victims. Kathy Sheridan reports on how the outpouring of cash after the tsunami disaster has created its own problems