'Compassionate' Irish 'Gave For Haiti'

The Fianna Fail TD for Dublin South has spoke of the generosity of the Irish people after it emerged that €21 million had been donated from the state.

Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South Central Michael Mulcahy has said the "true spirit of the Irish people" was made clear with figures released today showing more than 20 million euro was donated by the public to aid agencies working in the earthquake devastated country.

"We were all so struck by the im

"I note today that the Director Dóchas has confirmed that since the tragedy struck the people of Haiti the Irish public has donated over £21 million.

This is an enormous amount of money and shows there are no limits to the compassion of the Irish people," Deputy Mulcahy said this morning.

He added: "The Government has donated four million euro to the relief effort in Haiti and I know that the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and the Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power have both made clear the Ireland is committed to helping the Haitian people as they work to rebuild their country in the years ahead.”

The news comes as Chile's government this morning more than halved the official death toll from last weekend's earthquake and ensuing tsunamis.

Today's official figure stands at 279 identified bodies, from a previously reported 802 victims. No official explanation has yet been given.

However, it is believed the previously reported figure had included lists of people still missing from various local authorities.

Despite being over a thousand times more powerful than the earthquake that hit Haiti - at a colossal 8.4 magnitude compared to Haiti's 7.0 - Chilean architects had been forced to ensure all new builds are capable of withstanding tectonic movements for some years, undoubtedly saving thousands of lives.

In contrast, the Haitian government, which has been accused of corruption and failure to deliver a working infrastructure, has given a confirmed death toll of 230,000.

(DW/BMcC)