Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister of State accept that most people would agree with aid being provided in times of crisis? I do not believe people have a hugely negative view of development. However, their perceptions become muddied when aid is being provided for large countries with massive resources and corrupt governments. If we are seen to be involved in such countries, difficulties often arise. This is because of the extreme circumstances which obtain in many of the countries to which I refer. People want us to learn from the mistakes we made in the past, but they become concerned when they consider where Irish aid goes. That is why clear evidence must be provided of where the money goes and how it is spent. People refer to Uganda in the negative, but it must be seen in a positive light, particularly when one considers the changes which have occurred there in the past decade. These changes are the result of work done by a number of countries and Ireland is in there with the best of them in that regard. Rather than always being negative, people should congratulate Irish Aid on the work it is doing in Uganda.

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