Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have eight people involved in the EU Training Mission in Mali and they are there largely to train the existing force and to ensure the operations are based on human rights. There is also a request that member states make a contribution to the EU peacekeeping force, MINUSMA, which is due to come into place from the beginning of July. Whatever decision is made on that is another matter.

With regard to the broader question from Deputy Crowe about what is needed in the long term, there is at this stage general recognition that this whole area of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, which has given rise to enormous conflict and, at times, mayhem, needs to be addressed. Somalia, on one side, is a huge part, and Mali, on the other side, is another part, but there are other areas in between where there is a lot of conflict.

Some €3.25 billion was collected during the pledging conference in Brussels, to which we contributed. The intention is that a state-building exercise would take place so that, in the first instance, humanitarian aid would be provided, there would then be new elections and there would be a reliable and transparently elected Government. The intention is then to move towards developing the country in a sustainable way and ensuring its security at the same time.

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