By April Drew

A crisis center to cope with major overseas emergencies was unveiled by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin last week.

This has come in the wake of recent emergencies including 9/11, the tsunami in Asia and various bombings in Bali, Egypt and London.

The center will have a call area of 24 desks, which will be activated within minutes during working hours and within an hour over weekends and overnights.

“While the Department has responded outstandingly to past emergencies, we will now be in an even better position to look after Irish citizens during any future crisis, as well of course as keeping in active contact with their families,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern in Dublin last week.

During the crisis in the Lebanon last summer, the Irish government launched a national rescue operation where they safely evacuated some 200 Irish citizens and their families. “This was the first time that we had undertaken such an ambitious operation,” Ahern said.

He said that operations such as the above would now be carried out from the new crisis center. Ahern promised that information will be passed quickly and efficiently between the call area and those overseeing the operations.

“This is an important consideration since there is a need for the public, and especially for the families of our citizens caught in difficult situations, to be kept fully up to date about development,” he added.

The center will also have the most up to date software and video conferencing facilities, connecting the Department of Foreign Affairs with crisis centers and similar facilities in other EU countries.

“In an emergency situation, it is crucial that we keep in constant contact with our fellow EU countries and the intelligence and resources available to them,” Ahern said.

In conjunction with the opening of the center, Ahern also announced that the Department of Foreign Affairs is establishing a specialized consular emergency team, which can be brought together at a moments notice to fly into an affected area to assist the local embassy or consulate to help the Irish citizens and evacuate if necessary.

“While the upgrading of our technology and equipment is critically important, the most valuable resource we have is people. I cannot over-emphasize how important the human factor is in crisis situations,” he said.

“As Irish people become more affluent, they travel a great deal more. This means that when a crisis occurs in far-flung parts of the world, there are usually quite a number of Irish citizens in the affected region.”