Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador and her colleague. I grew up in a rural community. Of all the countries in Africa, we would have been more aware of Nigeria because of the history of missionaries travelling to Nigeria from my county of Cavan. There is a long friendship between our countries.

The ambassador has understandably painted a very grim picture of the terrible suffering and terror imposed by the Boko Haram group on defenceless and innocent people. It is an issue that colleagues in Seanad Éireann have raised and we have discussed it in this committee. I and other colleagues have raised the issue in Dáil Éireann, expressing our concern. The ambassador used the term "defenceless people" about the abduction of schoolgirls and the holding of those young innocent people in captivity. It is a desperate situation.

The ambassador said that the efforts of her Government are complemented by technical support from the international community. Can the international community do anything more to assist in bringing this terrible suffering to an end? Can we, as a Parliament and as a concerned country, do anything further on the international stage to highlight to an even greater extent the terrible suffering inflicted on so many innocent people?

The ambassador also referred to the trafficking of weapons, presumably from neighbouring countries. I ask her to elaborate on that. She also mentioned that she is seeking the preparation of a common resolution for the attention of the United Nations Security Council. What does she hope to achieve if the preparation of such a resolution was successful?

The Ebola virus outbreak is of major concern to the entire global community. The ambassador's figures differ slightly from the figures in the briefing given by the Department. I am not criticising either; it just shows the difficulty in compiling an accurate and up-to-date assessment of the number of people who have been afflicted by this virus. Speaking about two weeks ago a senior official in the World Health Organization stated that the virus - the disease - was winning the game. If substantial progress was not made within the following six weeks, which would be up to the end of November, he painted a very grim picture of how the disease would spread even more quickly throughout the world. We all welcome that Nigeria has been declared free of the Ebola virus. What does the international community need to do to assist in the efforts to contain the virus in west Africa and elsewhere?