Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress which has been made in achieving the objectives of NEPAD; and his views on the capital flight from heavily-indebted countries in Africa. [25243/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, is an African-owned and led initiative which is intended to eradicate poverty and promote and achieve sustainable development in Africa in the 21st century. It is based on the recognition that the primary responsibility for Africa's future lies not in the hands of donors or multilateral institutions but in the actions of Africa's governments and peoples. NEPAD has been adopted by the African Union as its socio-economic programme and has also been endorsed by the UN General Assembly which has urged international support for its implementation.

NEPAD is ambitious in its scope, both in seeking to create the conditions for sustainable development in Africa, through promotion of peace and security, democracy and good governance, and in attempting to promote policy reforms and increased investment in key economic sectors, such as agriculture, human development, infrastructure, education and energy. A development plan for the agricultural sector, the CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme), has been agreed though implementation to date has been limited.

The major progress achieved to date through NEPAD has been the African Peer Review Mechanism which scrutinises, monitors and reports on progress in good governance (both political and economic) through a forum of Heads of State of participating countries. Twenty-six countries, including Irish Aid's six programme countries in Africa, have so far signed up to the APRM while the first two formal reviews, of Ghana and Rwanda, have now been completed. The report on Ghana was published in April 2006 and the Ghanaian government has now prepared a programme for follow-up implementation. The report on Rwanda will be considered at the next APRM Heads of Government Forum to be held later this year and will hopefully be published thereafter.

Ireland's policy in relation to heavily-indebted poor countries has concentrated on the need to relieve the burden of debt in order to permit adequate public expenditure on necessary services to reduce poverty, including health, education, water and sanitation.