Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the position in Somalia. [5219/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The situation in Somalia remains appalling, and the suffering of its people immense. Somalia has been without effective government for close to 20 years, and repeated efforts by the international community to restore peace, stability, and legitimate government have been unavailing. Violence in Somalia escalated during 2008, with regular clashes between Ethiopian and UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces on the one hand, and Islamists and clan militias on the other. Civilians suffered greatly as a result of the violence, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. In January 2009, Ethiopia began a phased withdrawal of its troops from Somalia, leaving the TFG in a very precarious position.

Fears that Ethiopia's withdrawal would lead to a security vacuum appear to have been well-founded. The departure of Ethiopian troops from Mogadishu was initially greeted with jubilation by local residents, but within days serious fighting had broken out. Al-Shabaab, a radical Islamist group which already controls much of southern Somalia, has seized control of Baidoa, the seat of the TFG institutions.

In addition to the provision of significant humanitarian aid to the Somali people, the EU and the UN have been to the fore in supporting efforts to bring about a political solution in Somalia. The Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, has been tireless in his efforts to bring parties together. On 30 January, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected President of Somalia by the transitional parliament, with the support of many MPs who had opposed the previous President. The new President was one of the leading figures of the United Islamic Courts, which brought a certain stability to southern Somalia under Sharia law in 2006. As a moderate Islamist, he has not received support from the more extreme Al-Shabaab group. He will face an uphill task in consolidating his support and building up the TFG's credibility on the ground.

The African Union's UN-authorised peacekeeping force in Somalia, AMISOM, has never reached full strength since it deployed in March 2007. In recent months, the UN Secretary General has sought, and failed, to obtain additional commitments of troops for a new multinational force. UN Security Council Resolution 1863 of 16 January 2009 suggests that a UN force could be deployed later this year, but this seems extremely unlikely, given the dim prospects for a truce in the ongoing conflict, and the country's notoriety as a graveyard for international peacemaking efforts. Any new force would face the same problem which has dogged AMISOM: that there is no peace to keep.

Humanitarian workers in Somalia face serious security problems, including random violence, extortion, kidnapping, landmines and banditry. Warlords frequently extort money from humanitarian agencies in return for allowing them to assist hungry and helpless people. Piracy off the Somali coast also threatens the delivery of assistance, with many people dependent on the World Food Programme's maritime supply line for food aid. The EU's first ever naval mission, EUNAVCO, is playing its part in international efforts to combat piracy, including facilitating the escort of WFP ships into Mogadishu.

Ireland's commitment to the Somali people is demonstrated by our contribution to humanitarian assistance, amounting to over €20 million since 2006. Additionally, members of the Irish Aid Rapid Response Corps have been deployed to assist the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in its work on Somalia. Ireland will continue to extend every possible assistance both to ease the humanitarian situation and to support the promotion of internal dialogue and national reconciliation within Somalia.