Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 53: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the situation in Afghanistan will be discussed at the next EU Council of Ministers meeting; his views on the deployment of extra troops; his further views on whether this is the way to deal with the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41873/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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At the moment, it is not known if the situation in Afghanistan will be discussed at the next EU Council of Ministers meeting in December. The issue was discussed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council, GAERC, and the European Council last month and there was also a further discussion on aspects of EU support to Afghanistan at the GAERC earlier this week. There are currently two international military operations in Afghanistan: the UN-mandated, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, and the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom.

Decisions in relation to troop numbers in Afghanistan are primarily a matter for NATO and the members of the coalition in consultation with the Afghan authorities. Furthermore, the Afghan security forces, in particular the army, are playing an increasing role in operations and the aim is that they should eventually take over full responsibility for the security of their country. While decisions on troop numbers will be for the large troop-contributing countries to take, it is clear that an international military presence in Afghanistan will continue to be necessary for some time, both to undertake operations and to train the Afghan security services so that they can take the lead in the protection of their country and people.

It is vital to remember that the situation will not be resolved by military means alone. For Afghanistan to achieve stability, security and progress, it is essential that the Government of Afghanistan begins to play a much stronger and more effective role in the leadership and governance of its country and that it sets about without delay to tackle the many challenges that face the country, not least national reconciliation.

It is vital also that the people of Afghanistan start seeing some real improvements in their lives in the form of increased basic security, improved opportunities to enhance their agricultural productivity and incomes, job opportunities, improved access to education at all levels for their children, improved governance of the country and the eradication of the corruption which diverts precious resources away from the people who most need them. Until the people of Afghanistan are convinced that their central, provincial and local governments represent better alternatives to the Taliban, the militants will remain a pole of opposition.

The international community has pledged to support the people of Afghanistan to fulfil their hopes for a stable and secure environment in which to live, work and raise their families and for increased livelihood security and prosperity. There are plans to hold another international conference - perhaps in London this time - to launch a new compact between the international community and President Karzai's new Government. The international community will take the opportunity to make clear its expectations for improved governance and the "Afghanisation" of security, administration and the reconstruction effort over the coming years.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister detect an increasing frustration on the part of his EU partners at the slow pace of the improvement in governance in Afghanistan? The recently leaked report contained correspondence from an official at the American Embassy stating that America should not provide any more troops. The British position is that the cudgel should be taken up by the Afghan army. Are we seeing a slow disengagement by NATO, the EU and the multinational force from Afghanistan due to the lack of improvement in governance?

Does the Minister agree that if foreign forces on the ground cannot interact with the local community, which they cannot in Afghanistan, it gives rise to the concept of an occupying force instead of a force that is there to assist?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Do I detect frustration? Yes. This has been discussed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on many occasions and there is frustration at how governance has evolved in Afghanistan. The view of my colleagues is that there is a pressing need for enhanced governance capacity not just at the centre, but throughout the provinces and the country. Regional governance is as critical to progress as an effective national government. Many of the weaknesses in the inputs to date have related to that issue and to corruption, a problem that must be eradicated if the policies the international community are pursuing are to be given a fair wind.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Are there not lessons to be learned from the situation in Afghanistan about the non-applicability of concepts like governance that are defined in a totally western way? There is a curious resonance in these answers to the reaction to the invasion of Iraq, which was justified by the invading administration as the establishment of an island of democracy in a sea of non-democratic structures.

Is it not really the case that a strategy for withdrawal is being prepared now? I will not get involved in a semantic discussion of when an occupying force is not an occupying force. The truth of the matter is that the lessons for the European Union are that concepts like governance and accountable administration must be defined in terms of cultural, local and historically defined realities.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would not disagree fundamentally with that. Key to any conflict area is a proper understanding of how society has evolved over time, the cultural context and how to develop structures to accommodate those and respond to them while making progress. There has been a significant review in the EU and also in the USA of the objectives of the mission. That is fundamental because one must understand what one's objectives are and the outcomes one is seeking. In that context, what has won ground in recent times is an acceptance of the need for reconciliation in terms of what is loosely termed "the Taliban community". As we know, in life there is a continuum of views and it is not possible to label everyone with a simplistic title and state that a particular group of people is beyond reach.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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That would be as bad as the Ba'ath Party.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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What role do the Irish troops in Afghanistan have? They are few in number but while the rights or wrongs of the current situation are debatable, and, like Deputy Higgins, I had reservations at the time, as I did about the invasion of Iraq, we must deal with the situation and it would be irresponsible to fail to respond to the demands of officers in the field in Afghanistan regarding additional troops. While I do not advocate sending more troops to Afghanistan, we should have a clear position on this in the European context. We have something to offer in terms of the roles we have played in Chad, Lebanon and other countries. We have a distinct role to play and Irish troops have always been successful in that area.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Will the Minister give an indication of the reconstruction fund the European Union has for Afghanistan, the amount of money in it and what it is used for? There does not seem to be too much reconstruction going on at the moment.

Does the Minister have the figures referred to by Deputy Creighton for the number of civilian and other personnel involved there?

Is there any monitoring of the impact of the conflict on Pakistan and whether is political instability as a result of the increase in Taliban activity in Pakistan?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have seven troops currently participating in the United Nations-mandated, NATO-led mission, ISAF. They are based in Kabul in a non-combatant role. There are no plans to increase the level of our contribution at present. Our presence in Chad is our major input, with more than 400 troops deployed, a significant deployment that means we do not have the capacity to send any more troops to Afghanistan.

Increasingly we have been looking at ways of giving support through Irish Aid or in partnership with other donors to see if we can help on the agricultural and food sides, where we have some expertise. We are examining this area to see if the aid we already give can be better targeted at providing alternative forms of agriculture in Afghanistan and helping rural development.

We recently received a delegation of Afghan parliamentarians who came to Ireland to have a look at our peace process and model of conflict resolution.

Deputy Creighton's point is valid, Afghanistan is critical on a global basis. It is important that we work to see can we help the country to emerge as a stable entity for a range of reasons, not least the regional instability that it can and does create. There is clearly an impact on Pakistan and the wider region. That is why the European Union, of late, has begun to look at the issue from a regional and not just a country by country perspective. There has been renewed focus on Pakistan in tandem with the consideration of Afghanistan.

In terms of the EU costings Deputy Costello looked for, since 2002 the European Commission has contributed more than €1.4 billion to Afghanistan. EC aid is being used for humanitarian purposes as well as to support priority reconstruction and development efforts included in key policy documents with the Afghan Government, such as a national development framework, the interim Afghan national development strategy and, more recently, the Afghan national development strategy. At the 2006 London conference, the EC together with other development partners committed themselves to the Afghanistan Compact. This was a political agreement between development partners and the government to work together towards achieving results and impact on clear targets set for the next five years. That is a very substantial commitment to Afghanistan by the European Union.