John O'Shea's criticism of the Irish Government's aid policy in Ethiopia is wrong, writes Conor Lenihan
John O'Shea makes a number of serious charges (Opinion, November 13th) in relation to Ireland's aid programme in Ethiopia. I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight.
Over the past number of years the Irish Aid programme has been very favourably reviewed by a variety of independent organisations, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to Action Aid. The whole programme has recently undergone a major and public review process in the preparation of the White Paper on Irish Aid, which has been widely welcomed.
The Irish Aid programme is subject to constant oversight by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, at which I regularly present updates on events in our programme countries. Despite being asked by the committee on a number of occasions, Mr O'Shea has repeatedly refused to address his concerns on Ethiopia to the committee in an open session.
Mr O'Shea accused the Government of inaction following events in the post-election period in Ethiopia.
This is simply not true. Firstly, I, as Minister responsible for Irish Aid, strongly condemned the violence that followed the elections in Ethiopia last year, issued a number of statements to that effect and met Ethiopia's representative in Ireland to ensure our concerns were strongly articulated.
In Addis Ababa, our Embassy was at the forefront of the intensive donor efforts to secure the release of the thousands of prisoners held without charge at the time.
Ireland took the lead in organising visits to prisons and detention centres and this pressure helped to secure the release of all but 51 of those detained.
During his visit to Ethiopia in July of this year, my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, visited a number of those detained and raised the issue forcefully and at the highest level with prime minister Meles Zenawi.
I also ensured that Irish Aid suspended any plans to provide direct budget support to the government of Ethiopia. This position was taken up by other donors, including the UK, as referred to in the article.
Our condemnation of the actions of the government of Ethiopia is therefore very clear. But Mr O'Shea wants us to go further.
The question is what would the impact be of Ireland withdrawing our aid, as he is suggesting?
The answer is simple - millions of ordinary Ethiopians would doubly suffer because of the actions of their government.
Ethiopia is the seventh most underdeveloped country in the world, with a life expectancy of 47, an average income per capita of less than $2 (€1.56) per day, a spend on healthcare of $20 per person per year (in Ireland it is over $2,500), is prone to persistent drought and food shortages and has exploding population growth.
Irish Aid has had a bilateral assistance programme in Ethiopia since 1996. Since that date the literacy rate has increased by 50 per cent, the rate of malnutrition has fallen by 20 per cent and the share of the population with access to clean water has risen to 38 per cent. I am proud of those achievements in which Ireland played an important role.
This year alone in Tigray, one of the regions supported by Irish Aid, 145 primary schools and 650 wells and water-points were built.
Through our funding of the Safety Nets Programme, hunger is kept at bay for over seven million Ethiopians each year. None of this would be possible without Irish Aid intervention.
We cannot and will not abandon those in most need. Nor will we abandon our pressure on all the governments receiving Irish assistance, including Ethiopia, to build strong democracies and accountable administrations. It is our development record and our reputation as a donor, without a hidden strategic agenda, which ensures that our voice is heard and respected in the developing world.
Mr O'Shea often writes and speaks about the dangers of working through governments. Let me be clear: working through government systems does not mean supporting all the policies or individuals within governments.
But working with the ministry of education in Ethiopia to train teachers and construct schools means that we are nurturing future generations of Ethiopians, in order that they can have a better and greater say in their own future.
All agencies and non-governmental organisations have to a greater or lesser extent to work through or with the permission of governments.
Irish Aid supports the work of NGOs, including Goal, in Ethiopia. When agencies such as Goal and others build schools or clinics they need government permission, and the staff to run such clinics are often trained in government institutions and are paid by government.
The vast majority of these organisations recognise that working with governments is the only way to effect lasting change.
Indeed, at a recent meeting with the main opposition leaders in Ethiopia, who are not all in jail as Mr O'Shea suggests, donors were urged to continue their support for targeted Ethiopian government programmes which the leaders know are saving and improving lives.
A reader could take the impression from John O'Shea's article that all of Irish Aid's funding is channelled through governments.
This is far from being the case. Irish Aid gives very significant funding to NGOs - over €100 million last year.
Goal, for example, is a major recipient of Irish Aid funding. This year alone Goal has so far received almost €18 million from Irish Aid. That is over €1.5 million per month.
It is indeed a tragedy that many people lost their lives after last year's election and there is little doubt that the Ethiopian government acted with excessive and unacceptable force. As I said above, our strong views on this are very clear.
But it is equally and compellingly a tragedy that thousands of children die each day from hunger, disease and grinding poverty.
Should we now doubly punish the poorest in order to make a point that will serve only to reduce our influence - an influence gained by long- term engagement and support to the people of Ethiopia? The lives of millions of vulnerable Ethiopians depend on Irish Aid, which itself is the most positive reflection of the continued generosity and commitment of Irish taxpayers.
And I can assure our taxpayers that they can be very proud of the way their generosity is delivered on the ground in Ethiopia, and in Ireland's other programme countries.
Conor Lenihan is Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs