David Norris (Independent)

I too welcome the Minister of State, who made a very energetic and useful contribution to the debate on this subject by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on 10 October. I would like to pick up on one or two things said there. One significant matter perhaps not yet mentioned in this debate was the Government suggestion that the committee be renamed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid. That has been universally welcomed, since it helps to place at the centre of foreign affairs the commitment of the Government and the people to aid programmes. It was very heartening to hear from the Minister of State that the ten new member states of the European Union are sending delegations to Ireland weekly to learn how they might construct similar programmes. It is flattering that it should happen.

The Minister of State also stated that we have made a significant contribution, and some other European and world states are watching what we are doing and following on our coat-tails. That too is a good thing, showing that we are becoming a headline community in the area. I also welcome the idea of creating a dedicated unit for conflict analysis and resolution. We are in the end game in the North of Ireland, and we may have learnt some lessons useful to the rest of the international community.

The development of a hunger task force was also mentioned. However, underlying all those issues and much of the conflict throughout the world is a catastrophic population explosion to which very few people nowadays refer; it is simply not fashionable. From the time I entered university to now, a matter of approximately 40 years, the global population doubled. That inevitably produces strains regarding overcrowding, competition for resources, international conflict and so on, and it must be addressed.

The Minister of State also mentioned the establishment of a governance unit to ensure that aid given is properly applied. I was very interested but also sorry to see that in the full White Paper he refers to the disastrous situation in Congo, where he has said the aid was useless. I would have liked a little more information on that, since it is helpful to know why it is useless. It is devastating to state that millions of euro were sent to that tragic country without anything happening except that it was all sequestered away. I would like to know how, why, where and when that happened and what we can do to address matters regarding governance.

I welcome the commitment to raise aid contributions to 0.7% of GDP by 2012. However, I remember commitments being given in this House regarding which, when we on this side poked the Government, we were told that they were not absolute. How absolute is this commitment?

I remember Deputy O'Donnell making a passionate appeal in the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs that this not be decided yearly but built into the heads of financing so that it is structural. I do not believe that it has been done, but I would like it to happen. Although the Taoiseach is intent on going the full run, one never knows what might happen. There could be an accident; stranger things have happened. There might even be a different Government after the next general election, and one Government's commitments are not always fulfilled by another. I would like this stipulated structurally to clarify that our commitment is real.

Another very important point is that, as the Minister of State said, we are now a very wealthy country. Although in absolute terms our contribution may not be as substantial as that of which other countries are capable, there will be a considerable increase, and now is the time for us to plan. We must have trained personnel on the ground to ensure that these programmes can be delivered. As the Minister knows, in the past in the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs we have been told that there is no point in our increasing aid in financial terms because we lack sufficient trained personnel for delivery. We must examine that now and ensure that we have them.

I recently attended some meetings with the Irish Family Planning Association, which the Minister of State will know is affiliated to the UNFPA. I commend the Government on its strong and continuing support for the latter organisation, which is vitally important for precisely the reasons listed by Senator Terry. There is ecclesiastical interference from both ends of the spectrum, extreme Protestants on the one hand, and the Vatican on the other, to impede certain programmes. That is wrong, and it is very important that Ireland at least continue to lend its moral support. It is welcomed by Members across the party spectrum in both Houses.

At one of our meetings we referred to President Bush's cutbacks. From a very primitive perspective, he is cutting back in areas such as contraception. We should appeal to him not to make an absolute cut. He is in control and he will have ideas, but he should invest any shortfall in other areas. For example, my colleague, Senator Henry, pointed out that in certain African regions that she visited, she was astonished by the high maternal morbidity rate. One reason was the degree of haemorrhaging. She witnessed such situations and could not believe that a woman might die from such a minor flow of blood. However, when shown the haemoglobin counts, she realised that even a small haemorrhage was disastrous for women in such circumstances. That can be countered very simply by adding iron to the diet. President Bush, even if he is not prepared to pay for condoms, should make the surplus available to save the lives of women in childbirth if he is the kind of Christian about which he is always proclaiming.

Senator Kitt referred to the situation in Darfur. It is a very worrying trend, and the peace agreement has led to the fragmentation of forces, making matters worse, since former allies are now attacking each other. In the camps there is the horrible situation that the men are terrified to go out, instead sending the women to collect firewood, only for them to be routinely raped. The Sudanese Government is directly responsible for the use of rape as a weapon of war against women. It is disgusting and repulsive, and that should be made clear to the authorities in question.

Yesterday I raised the issue of disinvestment. I understand that the Department will be entertaining the Sudan Disinvestment Campaign. There are several firms, including Chinese petroleum companies and Canadian and American investment companies, as well as some that even have Irish connections. Since they operate through shell companies it is not always clear who are the owners. Through the National Treasury Management Agency, which controls substantial sums from our pensions, we have been investing in companies that support and prop up the Sudanese Government. The group has suggested including an ethical investment clause in the NTMA's terms of reference. I have spoken to colleagues across the party spectrum in both Houses and they are in favour. I would like the Minister of State to speak to his colleague in the Department of Finance about that.

Among the good points in the White Paper was the high priority accorded HIV-AIDS, women's health and gender issues. However, those issues always seem to be discussed in terms of reproductive rights. Let us insert the word "sexual", since that word needs to be there; sexuality must be mentioned. It is not only a matter of violence against women, something on which the Minister of State is absolutely right, since there is also violence against gay men. A situation in Iran may not have a direct link with Irish Aid, but it illustrates that this type of violence is global. In Iran, two lovely young men were savagely and brutally murdered because of their sexual orientation. It is not just women who are on the receiving end of violence.

In the context of HIV-AIDS, there is no mention of gay men in the White Paper. Women are mentioned. I remember speaking ten years ago at an interparliamentary union conference in India where I remarked on the absence of any reference to homosexuality, gay men, the gay community, etc. While I know homosexuality is a sensitive issue, I warned the conference that the issue was a time bomb. If we give in and do not include sexuality and homosexuality in our White Paper, the others will regard our omission as acceding to their view. Colleagues of mine on the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and members of our political group who support the UNFPA have said many countries assert there are no gay men in their countries. That is rubbish. The issue needs to be examined.

It is a pity there is no mention in the White Paper of our commitment under the 28-year programme of action, POA, adopted by the international conference on population and development in Cairo. There is also no reference to the fourth conference on women in Beijing and no specific mention of the UNFPA. Will the Minister take another look at this and include a statement of support for the UNFPA?

Senator Kitt mentioned the useful meeting the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs had yesterday where the issue of Darfur was raised. There was also a very interesting presentation by a courageous Afghani woman, Mary Akrami, who was sponsored by an Irish group called SAFE. Ms Akrami made some very valid points about the waste of money. She pointed out that many European countries send people to Afghanistan who do not speak the language or know the culture and who remain for six weeks and then go home. I call this crisis tourism.

We should consider carefully the point Ms Akrami made that what would really help is the kind of assistance being offered by the Rape Crisis Centre which has offered to train Afghan personnel in counselling and in managing the repercussions of a rape situation. This gives better bang for our buck. It is also safer because we retain our Irish personnel in our community exposed to no danger while passing on skills to courageous Afghani and other people who will bring them back to their countries.

This approach is also in our interest because if matters improve, these people will turn out to be leaders of their community and, perhaps, leaders of their country. We must be civilised, generous and flexible and not always insist the money is earmarked for overseas or that we must send so many people abroad to do an academic programme. That is hogwash. We should bring people to this country and train them.

One thing I like about the Minister of State is that he is prepared to take a bit of a risk, to think unconventionally and break the boundaries. This is something that could help make his name. He should look again at this area and decide "Yes", that in addition to sending money abroad, he will institute programmes in universities, medical faculties, hospitals and centres such as the Rape Crisis Centre. He should decide to support people by giving them the skills to deal with disastrous situations in their countries.

I welcome the White Paper which I believe is useful and welcome the change of name mentioned. I have some reservations, but they are not matters on which I find myself in contradiction with the Government. On the question of Congo, for example, I only seek further and better particulars. I have also suggested that when the paper mentions gender-based violence, it should automatically include gay people because we are such a target throughout the world. Ireland's relatively decent attitude in this area puts us in a position to include this reference, which would invite praise rather than ridicule.

I welcome the White Paper and the implications of its publication. I welcome the change of the name of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid. I also welcome the measures included in the paper to supervise the aid we give. I compliment the Minister of State and the Government on continuing their support for the UNFPA. This is critically important, especially in circumstances where powerful groups such as the Bush Administration shamefully cut back on funding because they object, on allegedly moral grounds, to the inclusion of contraception education, etc. This makes it even more vital that the Minister of State makes it clear to the international community our continuing and unwavering support of the remarkable and valuable work done by the UNFPA.