Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in view of the importance of capacity building to the attainment of the millennium development goals, the way in which Ireland can best contribute in the context of an expanded Irish Aid programme; his plans for enhanced educational co-operation between Ireland and programme countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6862/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Capacity building is recognised by both donors and developing countries as a critical priority for the attainment of the millennium development goals. This is strongly reflected in numerous recent international policy statements and reports such as the Paris declaration on aid effectiveness, the Commission for Africa report and the report of the UN millennium project. Within Africa, the African Union's new partnership for Africa's development, NEPAD, launched in 2001 as the continent's main development strategy, identifies capacity constraints as a major obstacle to sustainable development.

Until relatively recently, capacity building was often viewed as a process that involved the transfer of knowledge from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. However, in recent years this view has changed. Capacity development is now perceived as the primary responsibility of developing countries themselves. This requires that they take ownership of the process by developing clear capacity building objectives within national development plans.

Capacity building is at the core of Ireland's development co-operation programme. We work closely with partner Governments to build the capacity of individuals, communities and institutions to plan and lead the development process. We avoid establishing parallel systems of our own. We support initiatives that encourage skilled professionals to remain in their own countries.

Ireland has consistently supported and promoted education, particularly basic education, as a key change agent for development programmes. We are committed to working with local, regional and national authorities to accelerate access, equity and better quality education. Priority is given to addressing the barriers that prevent girls realising their right to education and to strengthening the response by the education sector to HIV and AIDS.

Strengthening the capacity of national, district and local partners in education planning, implementation and monitoring is central to all our work in education. In addition Ireland's fellowship training programme, which provides further training opportunities in Ireland for up to 60 fellows each year, contributes in a concrete way to addressing capacity deficits in education, but also in health, agriculture and other sectors. Consultations are under way with the Higher Education Authority to build even stronger links between the third level sector in Ireland, the aid programme countries and the aid programme generally.

Expenditure on education increased from €16.7 million in 1999 to approximately €42 million in 2004. The Government recognises that sustained improvements in education systems in the programme countries where we operate and in the developing world generally will require long-term commitment of resources by national Governments and by the international donor community. In the context of an expanded aid programme, we are committed to developing the educational area as a key element of the aid programme.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Is he concerned that many of the eight millennium development goals will not be reached in Africa? Perhaps the Minister of State can give me the information again in another way. While progress is made in universal primary education, the level of funds required is greater than the funds pledged. In the case of some of the millennium development goals, including HIV and AIDS, the amount of money delivered is less than 40% of what is required to achieve them.

The Minister of State referred to NEPAD, or local capacity within the countries to achieve the seed money necessary for development. If these countries live on less than $1 per day, 70% of the population lives on less than $2 per day, and $0.77 is required for survival, how can NEPAD realistically suggest that 12% of the basic funding for development should come from the home community? Does the Minister of State agree that NEPADs projections are unrealistic?

Does the Minister of State envisage many additional staff being required to implement this side of the programme, both in a bilateral and multilateral sense? He would have my support for that. I suggest an increase in staffing will be required if he will not have a set of contract relationships with the receiving countries. They are less beneficial than the type of structures needed for development economics and human rights.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will answer the last question first. We have additional staffing resources. I was delighted to work with my senior colleague in our Estimates campaign with the Minister for Finance. We achieved 20 extra staff for the development and co-operation division. That was some achievement in the current circumstances. I hope most of those staff will be devoted to the area of audit and evaluation and to ensuring the programme is well-run as it begins a rapid expansion towards the achievement of the 0.7% figure by 2012.

I take this opportunity to welcome some of the members of our scholarship programme, students from Africa, who are present in the Visitors Gallery. They are a visible and practical reminder that we are doing a great deal of work on capacity enhancement in the developing world. It is great to have them here today to witness our Parliament at work.

Regarding the questions posed by Deputy Higgins, we are strongly committed to dealing with AIDS. The Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and I were delighted that when we announced our new timeframe for the achievement of the 0.7% figure in New York, we also announced we would double the amount of money we spend on combatting AIDS. More than anything else, AIDS robs the capacity and the heart of Africa in terms of its ability to respond to its own difficulties and issues.

I reminded Members of the House on previous occasions that in one of our programme countries, Zambia, more teachers die from AIDS than are produced by the teacher training colleges. That shows the extent of the huge difficulties faced by the continent of Africa because of this deadly disease. In terms of whether the NEPAD or African Union income figures are realistic, I would love to be able answer Deputy Higgins on the spot. However, I would prefer to examine the figures in more detail. If he furnishes me with the figures, I will furnish him with a reply.

It is a tragedy that other countries are not as generous as Ireland regarding the millennium development goals. We set a clear, realistic and achievable timeframe within which we can achieve the figure of 0.7%. I call for other larger industrial countries, and members of the G8 economic bloc to come up to the mark and spend as much as Ireland. We are assisting with the Gleneagles package, particularly given the Irish involvement of Bob Geldof.

I am delighted to inform the House that this year, precisely because of the generosity of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, on a €60 million debt write-off, we will reach the 0.5% target ahead of the time we gave ourselves in New York last September. My Department estimates we are on 0.5% of GDP as I speak, because of that debt write-off. Next year will pose another problem and we may fall back slightly from that. However, we will try to be on 0.5% next year also. I hope we will exceed 0.5% next year because it is a strong target. It is good news that we are hitting our targets ahead of the predetermined schedule.

Deputy Higgins raised another issue regarding the millennium development goals. It is a tragedy that in sub-Saharan Africa these goals will not be reached at the current rate of investment and funding. I will reiterate the point that larger industrial countries which spend enormous amounts of money on military hardware must come up to the line and seriously consider redirecting some of their military spending to development.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Regarding the Minister of State's reference to the Higher Education Authority, is he in favour or does he have practical proposals and a timescale for the establishment of a human rights specialism? I support the interactive nature of human rights and development modules. Instead of existing staff attending existing development courses, does he favour the establishment of a human rights specialism in various institutions here, Africa and other countries? It would drive the issue forward.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Regarding capacity issues generally, we will spend much more money in the expanded aid programme on scholarships and fellowships in particular. This year we hope to double the number of people on our scholarship programmes from 60 to 120. Similar to the situation that pertains to AIDS funding, I do not see it stopping there. I do not see the €50 million we doubled to €100 million this year stopping at that. I can see us perhaps quadrupling the level of money we give on AIDS between now and 2012. We would have to do so if the international community does not make a determined effort to halt the spread of this disease.

In terms of the Higher Education Authority and the third-level sector generally, I had a large number of meetings within the past year with representatives of the various universities, including the President of Deputy Higgins' university. They are putting forward some exciting proposals on involving our academic and third level institutions in the programme countries. I hope to be able to make a number of announcements on that by the end of the year. The universities are dynamic in this engagement with the developing world. The local authority in my area, South Dublin County Council, is involved with one of our programme countries, Ethiopia. We are not funding this work heavily but town planners are helping with town planning in Ethiopia. As a challenge to Members I welcome similar proposals from any local authority. Like hospitals and third level institutions, local authorities have an enormous range of skills which we want to bring into our developing aid programme so that the maximum number of Irish people and the great institutions we have built here can play a role.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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World Vision Ireland delivered an impressive presentation on the importance of educational aid programmes to yesterday's Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. I hope the percentage of the overall budget going to educational aid will increase. Will the Minister outline the steps he has taken to confirm that moneys allocated in areas such as Ethiopia and Uganda are being spent on the programmes for which they are intended? It is a matter of concern that some of the money may not reach its target. One NGO has said all aid to Uganda and Ethiopia should be stopped, with which I disagree because the most deprived and needy would suffer. Is the Minister satisfied that moneys going to those countries are going directly to the projects for which they are intended and will he tell us his attitude to the call for a total cut of Irish aid to those two countries?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Minister said he wants some of these countries to "step up to the line" on corruption. Will he be more specific? Does he agree that it is obscene that some of these regimes are spending millions of dollars and euro on weaponry while their people are suffering deprivation?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I made those remarks on the donor countries, not the recipients.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The recipients also need to step up to the line so perhaps the Minister will elaborate.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I agree. I thank Deputy Allen for his remarks. The principle of our aid programme is to focus on poverty and those in greatest need. It would be shocking and terrible if we punished the poor for the misdeeds of their government. That is an outrageous suggestion. It is nonsense for any NGO, charity or anyone pretending to assist Africa to suggest we should cut and run at the first sign of difficulty. That is not the Irish tradition. It was not the tradition of Irish missionaries 100 years ago and it is not the attitude of today's aid programme. That view is held on a cross-party basis in this House and in the committees that discuss these matters.

Corruption is a serious problem for African countries and, as Deputy Gormley said, spending in some regimes is focused on the military, which is inappropriate and wrong. The fact that it is often because of fear of neighbours and regional conflict is no defence. A number of years ago we, with other like-minded donors, used pressure to prevent the Government of Uganda from increasing the amount of money it spent on its defence budget. It is important to recognise that the African Union, through the New Partnership for Africa's Development, NEPAD, process, is conducting for the first time its peer review group mechanism with regard to evaluating governance, corruption, respect for human rights and law. That is a welcome beginning. The onus is not just on the recipient countries in which we operate but also on this Government to justify the programme to our taxpayers who pay for it through taxation.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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We should ratify the UN convention.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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There is an onus on this House and on me, as Minister, to justify the programme to the people, who have justifiable concerns that perhaps our money could be misdirected, wasted or maladministered by a partner country. The Government is involved in headline budget support in very few, if any, countries. We have moved into headline budget support only in a small way. All the funding from Irish taxpayers into programme countries is ring-fenced into areas such as health, education, the fight against AIDS, capacity enhancement and governance. In Zambia we funded an anti-corruption commission. I was delighted when visiting there in December 2004 to meet the head of the commission. Since then the commission has come up with a successful prosecution in the British courts of former president Chiluba, who is alleged to have misappropriated funds belonging to the people of Zambia. Such developments are beginning to happen. In the context of the White Paper, there will be a greater focus on corruption and governance issues generally. When we announced our decision on the 2012 target in New York the Taoiseach indicated that four issues would be strong in the programme: corruption, food security, AIDS and bringing more private sector involvement to the programme.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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What about the White Paper?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I hope to publish the White Paper in July, subject to the approval of the Cabinet, which will move fast on it.