Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps being taken to promote transparency, accountability and fair use and allocation of proceeds from natural resource exploitation in Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44641/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Africa is endowed with considerable natural resources that can help accelerate growth and tackle poverty on the continent if used well. In recent years there have been frequent and substantial new findings of oil and gas in Africa, including in some of the partner countries the Government supports through our development cooperation programme, Irish Aid. Because of the development challenges that many of the resource-rich African countries still face, and given that many of these resources are non-renewable, it is vital to ensure that revenues generated are fully transparent, are used to improve the lives of the poor and that resources are extracted in a manner that protects the environment.

We know and we have seen that the so-called ‘natural resource curse’ can be avoided with the right institutions and policies, nationally and internationally. There are many important efforts ongoing to support transparency and accountability in that regard.

Proposals for the revision of the EU Transparency and Accounting Directives are currently being negotiated in Brussels, and the Government is very supportive of the efforts being made to improve transparency among EU multinational companies involved in extractive and logging industries in developing countries. These revised Directives follow on from recent US legislation compelling multinationals based there to publicly report how much they pay governments for access to oil, gas and minerals. They also complement the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) initiative, which has been developed under the EU-Africa Governance Partnership.

Ireland has also been very supportive of efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to promote the accountability, transparency and effective management of natural resources, for example through the recently updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. These Guidelines clarify how companies can identify and better manage risks throughout the supply chain, vital in halting the illegal exploitation of natural resources in fragile African states which has been fuelling conflict across the region for decades.

Finally, we continue to support efforts at the country level through the strong partnerships that we have built up with Governments, civil society and the private sector in Africa. In this way we are promoting improvements in governance and accountability, the protection and promotion of human rights, and the efficient and effective use of resources, including those derived from domestic revenue sources.