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

I will begin by making a point I made this time last year. The Minister, the Minister of State and all the officials are present. They are the powers that be when it comes to foreign affairs but there appears to be a huge rush to get through everything that is before us. That does not sit easy with me when we talk about parliamentary oversight. The Minister comes in and presents, and I do not have any difficulty with what he is presenting, but it is almost as if this is a rubber stamp process.

In terms of the figures, and taking the first which refers to promoting Ireland's economic and trade interests in Europe and internationally, we do not have a specific idea as to where that money is going or what it is doing. General issues are referred to and I have a difficulty with that. We are in an era where we are examining so many abuses of Government funding and I do not want to be a member of a committee that discovers something like that. I do not believe we will but there is a need for in-depth oversight.

I, too, welcome the diplomatic missions that are being opened. As a member of the delegation that visited Iran, we are very disappointed that we have not reopened the embassy in that country. The ambassador was in this morning-----