Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted that the Minister of State, Deputy Costello, is here because his portfolio is relevant to my question. My question is simple and straightforward. I am asking the Minister of State to strongly consider including Rwanda in Irish Aid's support programme, in view of that country's critical stage of development.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the ending of the genocide in Rwanda, a tragedy which cost approximately 800,000 lives over a 100-day period in 1994. In 2012, I was in Rwanda working on a short-term mission there with VSO, an NGO, supporting its planning and advocacy in early childhood development and education for children with special needs.

I can bear witness to the great progress which Rwanda has made over the past 20 years in terms of general development, but also in providing health, education and other services to the country's entire population.

Rwanda is a land-locked country about the size of County Tipperary with a population of 11 million. That is a lot of people in an area that size. We worked with many widows and orphans of the genocide. Some of those children lost both parents in the genocide but, with support, they went on to become heads of families themselves. There have been a number of genocides in the world but this one occurred in our lifetime, so we all remember it.

According to the UN, over 96% of children attend primary school in Rwanda and the poverty rate was reduced by an impressive 12% from 2005 to 2010-11. That implies that about 1 million people were pulled out of poverty during that period, with the sharpest declines registered in rural areas. I am pleased to hear that because I know that people experience incredible poverty in rural areas of Rwanda. When the floods come, for example, some children with extreme physical disabilities risk their lives to attend school. Some of them must slide down ravines on all fours. It is incredible what they do to get to school.

Their school benches are just wooden logs on the ground on which they sit sideways. There is such hope in the Rwandans' eyes, however; it is unbelievable. The Prime Minister, Paul Kagame, has brought a lot of discipline and has created really clean streets in Kigali, the capital. He is pulling those people up.

As we know, there are those who do not support leaders - that is not a new phenomenon in any country - but what I saw in Rwanda was extremely positive and hopeful. The country is at a critical stage of its development. I was involved in writing the UN's Rwanda development assistance plan 2013-18. The plan states that the Government made achieving its planned targets central to its development strategy. Three years ahead of 2015, the country has achieved, or was on track to achieve, all of its targets bar one. These are remarkable achievements by any standards.

Some people might criticise the idea of another country being included in Irish Aid's programme, but Rwanda should be included as part of that pie. I am not necessarily saying that more aid should be added.

There are long-standing links between Ireland and Rwanda. The former President, Mary Robinson, was the first Head of State to visit Rwanda following the 1994 genocide, thus demonstrating solidarity between our citizens and the people of Rwanda during their darkest hour. That has not been forgotten in Kigali.

Ireland has an embassy in Uganda, which also serves Rwanda. However, Irish Aid provides financial support to Uganda but not yet to Rwanda. It is worth noting that Rwanda has very low levels of corruption, so any money given would be well spent there.

We are all at different stages of development and sometimes one can make a big difference with only a small aid donation. My brief time there was probably one of the best experiences in my life. I was glad to make a contribution to an education system that was noticeable, compared to what we might achieve in another country, or even here, for the same time devoted to it.

I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response.