Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding Somalia in view of the fact that several Ministers were recently killed in one of the areas of Mogadishu which is still under the control of the United Nations backed Somali Government. [46858/09]

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 270: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the political, civil society and humanitarian position in Somalia. [47177/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 270 together.

The situation in Somalia is of extreme concern, as the country has been without an effective government since 1991. Since it was established in 2004, the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has made little headway in establishing effective control over the country's territory and restoring peace and stability. Continuous instability and conflict, in addition to deepening drought, have caused a huge humanitarian crisis. The long-standing absence of authority in the country has led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area.

A change of leadership at the head of the TFG in early 2009 was welcomed as a potentially positive step in Somalia's decades-long political crisis. The administration still faces enormous challenges, not least the fact that it controls little of the country's territory, and that significant armed groups remained opposed to the President. The most recent attack, to which the Deputy refers, was the suicide bombing which killed the Ministers for Health, for Education and for Higher Education, and the injury of the Minister for Sports and Tourism, along with the deaths of 19 others, including journalists. This was particularly serious as it happened in Mogadishu, in an area which is nominally under the control of the TFG.

The first ever ESDP naval mission, Operation Atalanta, was launched in December 2008, with a mandate from the UN Security Council to contribute to the prevention, deterrence and repression of acts of piracy. It has been effective in delivering upon its mandate, protecting WFP shipments of food aid to Somalia and reducing the incidence of pirate attacks against shipping in the region. An estimated 3.64 million Somalis are currently in crisis, including a rural population affected by severe drought, urban poor who struggle with high food and non-food prices, and IDPs. According to the 2009 FAO/FSNAU assessment, the number of people in need of livelihood and humanitarian support has increased by 13%, from 3.2 million to 3.64 million since January 2009.

Since 2007, Ireland has contributed €17.8 million in humanitarian assistance to Somalia. Funding over this period has been distributed to a variety of organisations, including NGO partners, Concern, Trocaire and World Vision and UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Over the same period €2,500,000 has been disbursed to two NGO partners, Concern and World Vision International, operating in Somalia. These partners are implementing programmes in areas such as health, HIV & AIDS, education and the building of sustainable livelihoods.

Ultimately, the insecurity and the piracy problem, the poverty and the humanitarian crisis which affect Somalis are consequences of the fact that Somalia remains a failed state. The only long-term solution is the restoration of effective government and the gradual building up of adequate justice and policing systems. The EU is strongly supportive of efforts to restore peace to Somalia and is the largest humanitarian donor to the country. But peace cannot be enforced from outside, the Somali people themselves must find a solution. The President has reached out to all parties and is open to dialogue and it is to be hoped that his efforts will be rewarded with success.