Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs - 7th February 2006

Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs - 7th February 2006
Overseas Development Aid: Presentations:
Senator Norris:I welcome the Minister of State’s interesting speech, in which he seemed able to combine the two functions of good cop and bad cop, or hard cop and soft cop, and indicated that there were moments when he would find it appropriate to deal robustly with the representatives of the Ethiopian Government. Some of the relevant areas have been outlined. I agree with my colleague that these include the killing of people during the turbulent situation and the imprisonment of parliamentarians, which is a matter that is always taken up by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in various countries throughout the world, as well as the changes in parliamentary structures and procedures made by the Ethiopian Government, which do not always operate to the advantage of democracy, a point well made by Senator Henry.
It is appropriate that we make our position clear in this area. I have been contacted by a number of groups and individuals, either Irish people with an interest or history of working in Ethiopia, Ethiopians or people who have undertaken academic research on the situation in Ethiopia. They all make pleas on behalf of what has been already described as a vulnerable population. The last thing we want is to further disadvantage people who are already very marginalised, as we know. We are well aware of the periodic famines which strike that country, its 1 million HIV orphans and the astonishing fact that just 82% of the population live on less than $1 a day - that is stark poverty, which we must acknowledge and respect.
The Minister stated, “No Irish aid monies go directly to the Government of Ethiopia via direct or general budget support”, a phrase I find interesting. I support the comment of Deputy Michael D. Higgins that the one way of controlling aid and making sure funding goes in the direction it is supposed to go is by requiring accountability and the publication of accounts, which is the least to which the Irish taxpayer is entitled. However, when the Minister states, “No Irish aid monies go directly to the Government of Ethiopia via direct or general budget support”, it seems almost as if this is a statement of principle and that this is a good thing and a way of ensuring the money is appropriately and properly spent. If, in this instance, the Minister of State regards it as a matter of principle and a good thing, generally speaking, why does this policy not extend to funding for Uganda, for example? I understand approximately €7.9 million has gone to Uganda in direct or budgetary aid despite Uganda being a country with serious question marks about its illegal military intervention in the Congo and its use of the natural resources of the Congo, such as minerals, diamonds and so forth. In light of the Minister’s statement about our funding not going directly in the Ethiopian case, will he comment on the parallel situation regarding Uganda?