Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he is taking to address the problems forcing persons to seek asylum within the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25034/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to direct the Deputy to my reply to Priority Question No. 86 which was as follows.

The problems that force people to seek asylum within the EU and elsewhere are many and all too common. They have to be addressed by the international community with all the instruments and resources at its disposal. All human rights violations must be condemned wherever they occur. Those responsible for persecution cannot be allowed to operate with impunity.

Persecution and conflict flourish in situations of extreme poverty and where climate change has had a disastrous impact on living conditions. These closely related factors present a complex challenge requiring a range of policy responses. Given that the great majority of the world's asylum seekers come from developing countries, it is important that the EU and other countries consider ways to support third countries in finding solutions to their problems.

Ireland, bilaterally, and in co-operation with its EU and UN partners, consistently follows a multi-faceted approach to the causes which have forced people to flee. This begins with our advocacy of the protection of human rights and continues through efforts to ensure conflict resolution, and the encouragement of policies aimed at poverty reduction, sustainable development and economic growth. The Irish Aid programme in particular is firmly focused on these objectives.

At EU level, the European Commission published last June a Green Paper on the future of the Common European Asylum System. The Green Paper, which Ireland welcomes, recognises many of the key challenges faced by Member States in relation to the operation of their asylum policies and procedures, and the need for increased co-operation on approaches at EU level so as to prevent 'asylum shopping' while at the same time ensuring that those individuals who are in genuine need of protection receive this protection as soon as possible.

I believe that the vast majority of people have no wish to uproot themselves from their communities, frequently leaving their families behind, to undertake an often dangerous journey to an unknown and uncertain destination. If people are provided with a minimum level of economic opportunity, and the security provided by a functioning accountable Government and basic public services, they will, I believe, choose to stay in their own countries, towns and villages.