Govt urged to press for disaster watchdog

The Government must call on the United Nations to establish a global watchdog to respond to humanitarian catastrophes like the Asian tsunami disaster, it was claimed today.

Four Irish aid agencies gave progress reports to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs today on how they were spending money donated by Irish people in the disaster zone.

But GOAL director John O’Shea called on Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern to press the UN for an international agency to oversee emergency efforts in Asia and elsewhere.

He said: “We are leaving it to governments to decide who gets the aid and who doesn’t. There should be a watchdog from the West.

“We must ensure that every single human being has his life repaired and his livelihood restored. Otherwise all our work will be a failure.”