Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I had questions when I arrived but the presentation was so comprehensive that it left nothing to be said. I am a relatively new member of the committee and I often wondered to what extent we had an input into how the money we gave to Europe was spent on aid. I was surprised it is such a significant figure. In the overall context it may not be huge but it is a big lump out of our total budget. It seemed very important to me that it complements our bilateral programmes and I am pleased to see it does.

Mr. Cotter made a point in connection with trade and informing IBEC about the value of the EDF money. Although it is important to stay away from the idea of aid for trade, it seems this is a good idea and I suspect other countries have been doing it for years. It is good that we get in and let people know as quickly as possible. Many Irish companies would be ideally placed to tender for these projects. We should be in there with other EU countries, who have probably been doing it for years.