Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I have been following this debate carefully. On both sides of the House there is a great feeling of pride in the tradition that exists in Ireland of helping less fortunate countries. In many ways that is the result of our history of deprivation. We always highlighted the aid we received, even if it was limited, and we appreciated it. It helped us to survive and gave us the opportunity to develop.

All the relevant statistics were mentioned in the course of the debate. However, they are a little clinical and sometimes overshadow the fact that what we are talking about is human suffering. In a way we are lucky that we are reminded of that suffering every day, particularly through television programmes. There is a terrible sense of frustration. It is easy to put a few euro in an envelope occasionally and send it to an agency but we know that it is a much bigger problem. We should not underestimate what is being done by the Irish aid agencies. The Minister has complimented them, as he has done on many previous occasions, and so have many Members of the House. They have been heroic and are living up to the dictum that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

There is an element of that in the criticism of the work the Government is doing. The Government is not cursing the darkness but is also lighting a candle. It wants to help. I have spoken to and read articles by people who have travelled to these countries, including Uganda. They have seen the health clinics, the primary schools and the rural roads built by Irish aid. There is tangible proof.

Kevin Myers wrote in The Irish Times last July about Irish overseas aid, corruption and so forth. It was a sad piece of journalism. It was certainly a case of cursing the darkness but, even worse, what he said in the column was quite vulgar. He concluded by saying that he would not give money to African countries. It is easy to have a nightcap, go to bed, sleep and forget about them. I do not like that. It is unfair journalism and it is not acting in a humanitarian way. It involves making cheap jibes.

Everybody knows there is corruption in Uganda but even the World Bank has acknowledged that there has been a significant improvement there. If the Government does not interact with the governments in these countries, they will not be able to develop further. People might have looked at Ireland and said that the aid coming to this country during its worst days was sufficient in itself but we know it was not. It is necessary to have an infrastructure. I have already acknowledged the heroic work being done by the NGOs but even with the best will in the world it is not public service. The only way to deliver is by ensuring that there is a public service in place. If there is corruption in Uganda, it is being exposed by the Ugandans through a vibrant press, an active civil society and lively parliamentary debates. Anybody who studies the situation there will see that it is the Ugandans who are exposing it.