Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

On the issue of the displaced people, the international community is keeping a close eye from the point of view of humanitarian relief. That is one of the major concerns. The fact is that large numbers are going home. In regard to dealing with some of the atrocities that took place, part of the agreement includes the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission and also a commission of inquiry into the outcome of the elections. There is no doubt that the Deputy's point in regard to the underlying injustices in a country such as Kenya, which is significantly well-developed in certain areas, was one of the reasons this uprising took everyone by surprise in that it seemed to be a relatively stable society, an area where thousands of people from the west went on their holidays. The international community, working with the AU in particular, would have the greatest influence with the new Kenyan Government to try to redress some of the issues. The Deputy's point about the gross inequalities in a country such as Kenya could apply to virtually every other country in Africa. Despite the substantial international financial assistance through overseas development aid, much of that is delivery of emergency aid in regard to HIV, food security and the issues flowing from the effects of climate change. Much of the concentration, particularly with the Irish Aid programme, has been to try to build the capacity of governments to enable the delivery aspects of their own wealth. I saw this in Timor-Leste, which I visited recently, where money was not an issue in that it had significant money from oil reserves but it did not have the capability to deliver.

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