| Ireland.com
Nov 18th 2005
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has announced a plan to establish
a permanent volunteer corp and a rapid response corps that could travel
to disaster areas at short notice.
The announcement, made during a speech to mark Ireland's membership of
the United Nations at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin this morning,
included a proposal to open an office where the public could access information
on the corps.
Mr Ahern said the events of the past 12 months - the Asian tsunami, Niger,
Pakistan - proved "beyond all doubt" that the developed world
lacks the mechanisms to respond rapidly to humanitarian crises in the
field.
"Ireland already has a dedicated, professional and world-class corps
of volunteers in the Developing World. We plan to augment their efforts
now and bring this volunteering tradition into the mainstream," he
said.
Precise details of how the force would be resourced and how it would
operate in a disaster situation are yet to be outlined.
Speaking to ireland.com, Goal chief executive John O'Shea welcomed the
development but expressed concerns regarding the specific nature the unit
would take.
An international rapid response force, implemented by the United Nations
Security Council was urgently required, he added.
"This force in itself may not save a huge number of lives but its
setting up may act as a catalyst and could persuade the international
community to set up the real rapid response force that's needed,"
Mr O'Shea said.
He said there was no point in the Government seeking to recruit highly
skilled personnel such as doctors, nurses and engineers when aid agencies,
including Goal and Concern had experienced difficulties with their own
recruitment drives.
"The best way for the Irish Government to operate this force is
to use the Irish army," he said.
"It has to be military-based. The people of the Third World need
protection from the leaders of their own countries who are waging war
against them. And they need people who have the ability to move hundreds
of tonnes of food and equipment.
"At the moment, the NGO community is alone at the frontline and
we just don't have that sort of capability. What we need is an international
army - an army without guns," he said.
Mr Ahern said he will facilitate development partnerships between Irish
companies and State agencies across all sectors with their counterparts
in the developing world.
"The corps will comprise of individuals with relevant and specialist
skills and experience in niche areas who will be available to travel at
short notice to situations of great need," he said.
The Government is planing to pre-position humanitarian supplies, including
tents and ready-to-eat meals, so that they can be quickly deployed at
short notice.
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