Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

During the wide-ranging response on Second Stage by the Minister of State, a number of Senators raised the question of governance. I would be grateful if the Minister of State would reassure the House that governance will form a large part of the Irish engagement once we become involved in the dialogue on the dispersal of funds in the Asian Development Bank. I will not reiterate the arguments made on Second Stage, but following the Blair initiative of last year at the African summit, the single criticism was that there did not seem to be a greater emphasis on governance. That criticism was made despite the high-flown ideals and noble aspirations expressed. No one questions the motives involved, and one applauds the subsequent fulfilment of the commitment made by world leaders towards reducing world poverty.

John O'Shea of GOAL distributed to the House and to the media certain material regarding Uganda and Ethiopia. I have total faith in the Government's ability to ensure that there is accountability and transparency regarding the money already being given under the ODA programme. I have equal faith and confidence in the Government's ability to ensure that any moneys which go into this current fund will also be subject to the usual international accountability and transparency criteria. As a small country, Ireland should have a role in ensuring proper governance in this area. In so doing we could ensure there is proper governance because events in Iraq yesterday showed that given the right environment and atmosphere, people are crying out for democracy, democratic institutions and good governance. I hope this is an area in which Ireland will continue to shine.