Government sending team to Thailand

The Government announced today it will be sending a technical team to Phuket in Thailand to ensure that its €10m aid allocation is spent to the best effect in the tsunami disaster regions.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern met more than a dozen aid agencies in Dublin this afternoon to coordinate Irish relief efforts.

The technical team will include officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and an Army logistics expert who will work closely with other Irish aid personnel on the ground in south Asia.