Rapid Response Corps to be ready from September

A HIGHLY trained Rapid Response Corps will go on high alert from September and respond to any worldwide disasters on behalf of the Government, the Foreign Minister said yesterday.

The unit — consisting of 64 people ranging from 26 to 65 years of age and specialising in humanitarian aid, logistics, mining, IT, environmental and public information — completes training by mid-September.

Proposals to establish it were put forward by Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern last February in an effort “to deploy to world trouble spots expert humanitarian assistance at short notice for specific periods of time”.