Minister of State Liz O’Donnell is to visit Gujarat to see for herself the impact of the Irish-funded response to the earthquake, which devastated the Indian state last month.
The 7.9-quake that struck on January 26 killed more than 17,000 people, with the toll expected to rise to 30,000.
The Government announced a £1 million aid package, giving £250,000 straight away to the Red Cross.
The balance of the fund has now been approved. Non-government Organisations (NGOs) Trocaire, World Vision, GOAL and the Edith Wilkins Hope Foundation were each given £150,000 while Concern and Christian Aid received £100,000 each for relief work.
Ms O’Donnell will go to Gujarat within the next month according to a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman, who said the final details for the trip were being worked out.
The Minister said today the scale of the disaster and continued aftershocks in the region have made coordinating the relief effort difficult. "Today’s package is a practical reminder of how much work remains to be done," she added.
She also said Ireland must "build on each experience in order to enhance out response to future disasters.
"This is an area we will be focussing on with the NGOs themselves in the current Ireland Aid review."