Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy Mulcahy.

I welcome the publication of the white paper and congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, on their work on this document. It is a very worthwhile document and has the capacity to generate debate. While I do not believe it is the be-all and end-all, it is important to reflect that many of the NGOs broadly welcomed it. Today I received correspondence from the 38 member organisations of Dóchas, which indicated the areas where they can strongly support the recommendations and the thrust of policy in the document.

With reference to what Deputies Burton and Quinn said, I also believe there is no quick-fix solution with regard to overseas aid. I also believe there are no quick fixes in the area of development and simply investing money is insufficient. However, the targets set are important and I encourage the Minister of State to advocate the provision of additional funding by the Minister for Finance in order that more can be done.

Ireland should play an important role in promoting good governance and combatting corruption. I have heard President Museveni, both in Uganda and South America, talk about his accomplishments. I have seen some of the work done on the ground in Uganda and there is no point in lambasting him or in asserting that everything he has done is evil or that everything that is being done there is corrupt. When a delegation from the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs visited Uganda recently, my main concern was that its members were unable to do enough. Consequently, I welcome the proposal to establish a conflict analysis and resolution body in Ireland. For example, the delegation, which may have included Deputy Michael D. Higgins, visited some opposition leaders in jail, some of whom had been working with the Institute of Public Administration on governance issues. The delegation also met some people who were involved in conflict resolution with the Lord's Resistance Army in the Gulu region of Uganda. An expertise could be developed in Ireland which could be put to good use.

While I may be naïve, I have a soft spot for the African Union and its inherent incipient possibility to be built on in order that Africa can take hold of its own development and opportunities. I welcome the peer review included by the Minister of State in the White Paper as it will be important in this respect.

The rapid response initiative is extremely important, as is the task force on hunger. However, I return to the point I made at the outset, namely, there is no short-term or easy way to build capacity, deliver education or fight HIV-AIDS despite what one is sometimes tempted to believe by television programmes. For example, I have been impressed by some of the initiatives undertaken by members of the construction industry, particularly in South Africa. However, such initiatives will grab headlines unlike painstaking work undertaken in fields such as water harvesting, food security and medical education in locations such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa.

I welcome the White Paper and the enormous potential arising from the fact Ireland is putting its money where its mouth is. As the Government is not above criticism, I welcome the opportunities that will be provided to have regular debates in this House on Ireland's development aid programme. While the work performed by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs is important in this regard, Members must realise that one only makes progress incrementally in this area of development.

See this speech in context