Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Durkan for that compliment. I will now address programme D - international peace, security and human rights. My Department's commitment to international peace, security and human rights is channelled through programme D, which has a total allocation of over €74 million. This represents an increase of €4 million over last year. It is anticipated that in 2014, there will be increased expenditure on the mandatory contributions to international organisations of which Ireland is a member. A total of €46 million is allocated in respect of contributions to international organisations such as the United Nations, including in support of peacekeeping operations.

We will continue to advance human rights priorities through our membership of the UN human rights council in 2014 building on our solid record of achievement last year. In 2013, we had a highly visible and active first year on the council. Important resolutions were adopted pursuant to Irish national initiatives on creating and maintaining a safe and enabling environment for civil society and on a human rights–based approach to preventable mortality for children under the age of five. As part of our EU Presidency, we also led on a number of important resolutions that were adopted, including on the rights of the child and freedom of religion or belief.

We will continue to promote international peace and stability, including through the development of the EU common foreign and security policy, CFSP, in 2014. This will build on the very great effort invested by our Presidency teams in Dublin and Brussels on CFSP matters last year. A number of high level and working group meetings were hosted very productively in Dublin, including the informal Foreign Affairs Council in March.

We continue to engage closely with the UN and to contribute to its work in targeted policy areas such as disarmament and Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security. We will continue our efforts to make the UN and other multilateral institutions more effective in facing global regional and development challenges. Disarmament and non-proliferation issues will remain a priority in 2014 building on our active participation in the international disarmament and non-proliferation process up to this point. This includes our co-chairing discussions on clearance issues under the convention on cluster munitions last year. We also participated actively in negotiating the new arms trade treaty which was adopted by the UN General Assembly last April and signed on behalf of Ireland by my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for trade and development, Deputy Costello, on 3 June. We expect to deposit our instrument of ratification in March.