Ahern pays tribute to public’s response to disaster

IT will take South-East Asia many years to recover from the devastation wreaked by the 2004 tsunami, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.

But the rebuilding of both lives and livelihoods was already well underway, he said, and Irish people could be proud of the part they were playing in this.

Ireland has contributed over €100 million to the relief effort, consisting of over €80m in private contributions and €20m from the Government.

"The morning of December 26, 2004, brought with it a sequence of events that shocked the entire world.

"In the space of a few short hours, more than 228,000 people lost their lives in a natural disaster that affected 13 different countries and left close to three million people struggling to comprehend the scale of their enormous personal grief," Mr Ahern said.

"I want to honour the memory of all those who perished but, in particular, the memory of the four Irish people who died in the tsunami Lucy Coyle, Éilís Finnegan, Conor Keightley, and Michael Murphy. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends."

The Taoiseach said the scale of the devastation last year was such that "it seemed almost impossible" to begin to think about rebuilding.

"However, rebuilding is exactly what is happening. Across the region, people are rebuilding their lives and their livelihoods," he said.

"The global response to the disaster was unprecedented.

More than €10 billion has been raised by the international community to support the efforts of the affected countries."

Ireland's contribution, he said, placed it as "one of the most generous nations in the world".

Mr Ahern said Irish aid organisations such as Concern, Goal, and Trócaire were still delivering vital assistance to those seeking to rebuild their lives.

"The path to recovery will be a long one. Those most affected were, by and large, the poorest and most vulnerable. However, I am confident that the tsunami survivors in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Burma and elsewhere will achieve their goal to build back and to 'build back better'. We will assist in this.

"While December 26, 2004, served as a reminder of humankind's vulnerability, December 26, 2005, (served) as an equally strong reminder of humankind's resilience."