IRELAND: The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, will visit Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka next week to review the devastation caused by the tsunami disaster on St Stephen's Day.
With a technical team already preparing to examine how the army can assist in the relief effort, the Minister will leave tomorrow with the heads of four Irish aid agencies.
He will also attend a meeting of EU Ministers in Brussels to discuss the union's response to the disaster. Mr Ahern will then be accompanied to south-east Asia by the head of Concern, Mr Tom Arnold; the head of Trócaire, Mr Justin Kilcullen; the head of GOAL, Mr John O'Shea; and the general secretary of the Irish Red Cross, Ms Carmel Dunne.
They will assess the situation with the technical team which will be in the region before their arrival on Sunday. They will also hold discussions with UN and other relief agency officials in the three countries, as well as with the governments concerned.
In addition, Mr Ahern will review the consular situation with the ambassador to Thailand, Mr Dan Mulhall, and with the Department of Foreign Affairs staff in the region.
The Minister said in a statement that the Department's staff had worked tirelessly since the tidal waves stuck to help Irish citizens and their families affected by the disaster.
"The Government's priority is to ensure that the resources committed by the Government and the people are targeted at those in greatest need," he said.
"This is about more than resources; we must ensure that our relief is used in an effective and targeted way."
The Minister said the importance of effective co-ordination in the relief efforts could not be overstated. "That is the clear message we are hearing from the non-government organisation community here in Ireland and from the United Nations, which has the central co-ordinating responsibility for the relief operation."
