Ms Carol Ballantine:

I work with Trócaire and I was in the DRC last week. The Deputy is correct to say that the indicators in the national action plan which are recognised in the monitoring report are reasonably superficial and are actions rather than impacts. That is a necessity in something so new and the impact will be visible over time. It is not as visible in the current progress reports. It is interesting that Ms McManus mentioned the Women's Coalition in Northern Ireland. We visited the DRC with Ms Monica McWilliams who has recently joined the board of Trócaire to look at the work that is being carried out with women.

Let me give one very small concrete example of a women's peace committee which is working in the Ituri region of Orientale province, which is not at present in live conflict but was in serious conflict in the early 2000s, up to 2004-05. These peace committee members whom we met had identified the problems of local markets that go on late at night in the dark creating situations where women returning from the markets in the evenings were in great danger. It is a good example, as my colleague Ms Melanie Hoewer said, that the women came together and were able to identify the practical actions that can improve their lives. They set up a lobby to convince all the market traders and local authorities that markets should close at 5 p.m. before sunset. It is difficult. It does not hold because these are commercial opportunities and it is very hard for people to give up a commercial opportunity when one is living in poverty but there is a certain level of consensus and this is a significant advance. That is a concrete action that women have taken themselves with support from the Irish taxpayers. It is an example of the sort of impact that happens as a result of empowerment at a very local level. Tracking that takes the commitment that exists in the national action plan but it also takes a long-term ongoing commitment.