The Government today announced it is sending a team of experts to Haiti to help the international relief effort in the wake of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Tuesday.
A statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs said the technical team would be drawn from Irish Aid, the Government’s programme for overseas development.
“This team, whose members are highly experienced in emergency situations, will initially assess the immediate needs of the Haitian people and identify short-term gaps in the overall response," Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power said.
“They will also examine the medium to longer-term requirements in terms of recovery and rehabilitation and liaise with the United Nations, other international donors and our NGO partners on the ground to ensure that aid is being delivered to those who need it most as quickly and effectively as possible,” the Ministers said.
Mr Martin added: "Irish Aid deployed a technical team to Asia in the wake of the Asian Tsunami in 2004 and they proved highly-effective in ensuring that our aid was delivered in a targeted manner and did not duplicate the efforts of other donors." Mr Power said Irish Aid would also deploy specialists from its Rapid Reaction Corps to assist.
The Irish Rapid Response Corps consists of 130 personnel with specialised skills in areas such as logistics, engineering and public health.
The announcement is in addition to the €2 million additional emergency funding pledged by the Irish Government yesterday. This money will be channelled through the United Nations and Irish aid agencies working in the region.
Irish Aid is to immediately release €250,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross as part of this support. That money will help the Haitian National Red Cross Society to provide emergency medical care, as well as in distributing shelter supplies and water and sanitation equipment. Irish Aid is also liaising with Concern and Goal to identify their funding needs.
Elsewhere, the United States today announced it would send up to 3,500 soldiers to Haiti from the US army's 82nd Airborne Division to assist with disaster relief and security.