On the basis of the information compiled by my Department in Dublin and in the United States, we now believe that eight Irish-born people were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. We are not aware of any Irish-born people killed in the attack on the Pentagon or the crash near Pittsburgh. I stress that this figure is based on the names of Irish citizens compiled by and communicated to my Department. Unfortunately, although I believe this to be unlikely, there may have been other Irish citizens caught up in this tragedy who have not yet been notified to us and, there were, tragically, very many Irish-American victims of the outrage. I am aware of only one Irish-born person who was injured and hospitalised for a number of days and I am happy to say that this person has since been discharged and has returned to Ireland.
Immediately the news of the attacks broke, my Department established a crisis centre to assist Irish people seeking information about friends or relatives who might have been affected. Emergency services were also set up by our Embassy in Washington and by our consulates in New York and Boston, and the whole system, between our US missions and the Department, operated in a fully integrated manner.
A free phone help line service was set up in Ireland and a team of more than 50 volunteers, including staff from other Departments, worked around the clock answering calls and building up a database of more than 2,500 Irish people about whom concerns had been registered. The Department of Health and Children very helpfully provided a team of counsellors to assist relatives in coping with the trauma of the events and also provided advice and support to the staff of the crisis centre. I am deeply grateful to all involved, who enthusiastically offered their services and whose work was in the finest tradition of the Irish public service. Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of persons reported to the crisis centre turned up safe and well.
In New York, the consulate attempted to verify the whereabouts of any missing Irish people. Consulate officials visited hospitals to verify reports of Irish injured. In a number of cases, they also visited addresses provided by relatives who were unable to make contact with their family member. To the extent possible, efforts were made to ascertain whether companies which had offices in the World Trade Center had any Irish employees affected by the disaster. Inquiries were likewise made with construction companies and sub-contractors who might have been in the area at the time of the incident. The consulate held regular meetings and discussions with Irish immigrant groups to ensure maximum follow-up on reports of missing persons and casualties.
Since 11 September, consulate staff have maintained close contact with the New York police department. We deeply appreciate the assistance provided by it in registering missing persons and checking lists of the dead and injured, in what was also a very difficult time for the police department. All possible assistance was provided to relatives who travelled to New York and many of them were met on arrival by representatives of the consulate. Not all families required assistance but, where requested, the consulate provided support, such as booking accommodation and meeting relatives at the airport. Assistance was extended not only to the relatives of Irish-born but also to relatives of US-born Irish citizens missing at the World Trade Center.
When in New York at the end of September, I was able, and on behalf of the Government, this House and the people, to express my deep sorrow to Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani at the tragedy which had occurred and to express my sympathy to the families of the victims. I attended a special memorial service for Irish and Irish-American victims arranged by the consulate. I also had a detailed meeting with the Irish immigrant groups with which we had been working closely. I thanked them for the enormous support and assistance they were providing to the Irish-American community in the aftermath of the attacks. In recognition of this work, I announced a special Government grant of $300,000 to assist these groups in dealing with the consequences of this tragedy.