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Haiti

Irish Aid announces €800,000 in funding to Irish and international organisations in Haiti

Minister of State for Overseas Development, Mr Peter Power, T.D., today announced funding of more than €800,000 to agencies responding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

The funding will be provided to Plan Ireland, Christian Aid and UN agencies.

This latest round of emergency funding brings the total Government aid commitment to Haiti to almost €4 million. It is focused on education and child protection, shelter, agriculture and environmental support.

Making the announcement, Minister Power said:

"Nearly two months after the earthquake, the needs of people of Haiti remain immense. Children in particular remain extremely vulnerable. Irish Aid funding of €250,000 will help Plan Ireland to operate six temporary schools. These schools will also provide protective spaces and psychological support to help children recover from the extreme trauma which they have experienced.

The Haitian Government estimates that 1.9 million people have lost their homes. Shelter remains a critical need. Irish Aid funding of €200,000 will support the UN Humanitarian Settlement Programme, UN-HABITAT, to assist the Haitian Government in rehabilitating Haiti's housing, social and physical infrastructure," Minister Power said

The devastating earthquake also seriously affected the agriculture sector. In many cases, tools, seeds and fertilisers were lost or damaged, while the destruction of roads and irrigation systems has had an impact on agricultural productivity.

The large scale displacement of families from urban to rural areas has also put pressure on food availability. Irish Aid is supporting the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation to protect the vital agriculture sector from further decline.

We are also supporting Christian Aid's programme to provide cash support to rural farming families who are hosting those displaced from the cities. This will help to support 1,000 families.

Before the earthquake, Haiti was considered to have the worst degree of environmental degradation in the northern hemisphere. This situation has been compounded by the earthquake. With support from Irish Aid and other donors, the UN Environment Programme, UNEP, is conducting rapid environmental assessments and providing advice on environmental issues to the hundreds of humanitarian agencies engaged in Haiti. It is essential that environmental concerns are factored into relief and recovery strategies, including waste management and rubble disposal.

The Haitian Government is leading the recovery effort, and the funding I am announcing today will help support them in that effort across a range of priority areas.

This funding brings the Government's total commitment to Haiti to approximately €4 million. Six members of Ireland's Rapid Response Corps are currently on the ground supporting the emergency response, while over 130 tonnes of Irish Aid relief supplies have now been distributed by partner agencies.

I am keeping the Government's response to the Haiti earthquake under review, and intend to make an additional funding pledge, as part of the overall EU response, at the forthcoming International Donors Conference - Towards a New Future for Haiti - on 31 March in New York."

For further information, please contact Fionnuala Quinlan, press officer, Irish Aid, the Department of Foreign Affairs on 01-4082653 or 087-9099975. For further information on Irish Aid, visit www.irishaid.gov.ie

Note for Editors:

Irish Aid is the Government's programme for overseas assistance. It is a division of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The funding announced today is being distributed as follows:

€250,000 to Plan Ireland for the running of six temporary schools

€200,000 to UN-HABITAT to assist the Haitian Government in the areas of housing, social and physical infrastructure, urban and spatial planning and shelter advice

€200,000 to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to support the recovery of the agriculture sector

€127,500 to Christian Aid to ensure that 1,000 host and displaced families in rural areas have sufficient funds to meet their short-term food and other basic needs

€100,000 to the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) to ensure that environmental concerns are factored into the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti

Today's announcement forms part of the Government's commitment of€3 million in direct funding in response to the crisis. Funds have been previously provided to Concern, World Vision, Haven, the International Federation of the Red Cross and UN agencies, including the World Food Programme.

The Government has supplied 130 tonnes of emergency humanitarian aid which have been distributed in Haiti by Concern, Goal and Trócaire. The supplies provided more than 12,000 families with shelter and basic sanitation equipment.

Irish Aid maintains the Rapid Response Corps, a register of 130 highly-skilled individuals who are willing to be deployed at short notice to assist in an emergency relief effort. Six members have deployed to Haiti since the disaster struck.

Ireland contributed €20 million to the United Nation's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2009 and a total of €73 million since it was set up in 2006 following the Asian Tsunami. The CERF provides immediately-accessible funds to the UN for use in a crisis such as that in Haiti. Ireland is the seventh largest donor to this fund.

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Press Office

14 March 2010