Liz O'Donnell (Dublin South, Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State and his initiative to build capacity and help states that have recently acceded to the Union to build their own overseas development programmes. Using Ireland as a mentor is a very good initiative.

I wish to raise two points, the first of which concerns conditionality and aid. As we all know, this issue can pose real dilemmas for donor states such as Ireland. Perhaps the problem is most acute in the occupied territories in Palestine. Will the Minister of State outline clearly to interested Members the position of Ireland and the EU, as part of the Quartet, in regard to the suspension of aid? This poses a dilemma for those of us who are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories. There is deepening poverty in the occupied territories and the population there faces a possible collapse of infrastructure and of the institutions of the fledgling state. Will the Minister of State outline the threat this poses to the vision of having two viable states, namely, Palestine and Israel? How has Ireland articulated its position on this matter internationally? Is it appropriate that we should abandon the Palestinian people through the suspension of aid to the extent that millions of people will suffer from food shortages and a lack of basic services, sanitation, water, etc.?

I wish to raise a matter of a more domestic nature that is of concern to Members of the House. Self Help, a long-standing partner organisation of the Irish Government in its overseas development programme, has unfortunately become embroiled in a controversy concerning the proportion of its public funding that has been spent on promotion and administration in Ireland rather than on projects for the needy in Africa, as was intended.

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