Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On Cuba, it might be an idea to work with our American friends to remind them the Cold War is over and that the USA might consider removing the embargo on goods going into Cuba. I had the pleasure of visiting Cuba last Easter and it was sad to listen to people there speak about the shortage of medical supplies, when Cuba has been to the fore in training medical personnel and sending doctors and nurses to places like Haiti. It also trains young people from developing countries. The issue of the Cuba Five should also be resolved, it has gone on for far too long.

I share the concerns about Gaza and Syria so I will not go back over them. The Tánaiste mentioned the EU common security and defence policy so the EU can effectively respond to crisis situations. I hope the Tánaiste is talking about a humanitarian response and not a military response.

On defence, many countries in Africa have very poorly trained armies and their capacity for dealing with situations is minimal. Part of that is because they are paid so little, if at all. When we look at the reputation enjoyed by the Defence Forces in peacekeeping, could there be more engagement by Irish personnel in training and building the capacity of some of the African armies?

The Joint Committee on European Union Affairs will be looking at Bosnia on Tuesday and while it is not a priority during the Irish Presidency of the EU, Bosnia Herzegovina is falling way behind when we look at the other countries in the area. It is welcome that Croatia will join the EU on 1 January but that will have implications for Bosnian farmers because of the lack of access to markets.

I am totally committed to our development aid budget. There will probably be cuts to that budget, although I hope they are minimal. Our aid gives us a massive input in human rights issues but to continue the conversation we had during Question Time last week on tax evasion and avoidance, we have a role to play here as well.

The EU accounting and transparency directives for extractive industries must be a development priority for the Irish Government and must be binding. There is an onus of the home Governments of the extractive companies to ensure those companies in developing countries are not acting in an unethical or immoral way. There is a dire need for access to information on companies working in developing countries. Will we support country by country and project by project reporting?