Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and congratulate our guests on their interesting dissertation. We all agree with the sentiments expressed. A number of matters spring to mind that are not purely gender-based. There seems to be a worldwide problem of violence against the vulnerable, be they women, children or the elderly. It appears to be a part of society. This ugly side seems to be prevalent and is not being checked. It continues regardless across the board in the form of female genital mutilation, a lack of education or access to job markets, etc. As Senator David Norris stated, many countries are affected.

The issue of the teenage girl who took a stand in Pakistan went slightly unnoticed. Given her age, her stance was courageous and she paid a high price for it. As other members probably have, I have submitted questions to the Minister in this regard. It behoves the worldwide community to focus on these issues and ensure the sacrifices being made and, most importantly, the reasons they are being made do not go unnoticed. That a child recognised the need to take such a stance on the issue of access to education is an inspiration to people of all ages everywhere. The worldwide community should converge on the issue and offer support in every way possible, be it through diplomatic intervention or otherwise.

Thanks to a recent visit, in the past week we have learned about land grabbing. Given the reasons set out by Mr. Clarken and others, it is a serious issue. People are conned out of their properties and relocated to facilitate mining or major agricultural enterprises that have nothing to do with the supposed intention of improving poor farmers' living standards but with the profit interests of large multinational corporations.

My final point is on development aid. It is important that we recognise that these straitened times pale into insignificance when compared with the level of deprivation and poverty obtaining in many other countries. We need to get this message across to the Government and the population. We must live up to our international responsibilities and we have bravely done so to date. The efforts of aid agencies and people on the ground, including indigenous community leaders, are superhuman and should be supported.