Mr. Hans Zomer:

This is an agreement between the European Commission, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Dóchas. This is important and binds the three questions together. My colleagues have talked about the sustainable development goals that will be agreed in September next year. This will be a new global framework, with the priorities for sustainable development, whatever that means, for the next 15 years. If this agreement is reached in September, every member of the United Nations will have to come up with an action plan on what sustainable development means for that country. Unlike the millennium development goals, which have been the framework for the work of aid agencies over the past 15 years, this new set of goals will be universal. It will be for rich as well as poor countries, so there is a significant difference. We have come to the committee because we think the committee needs to be aware of this significant shift.

When Deputy Crowe asks how we link issues of inequality and development overseas with issues at home, this is the answer. The UN framework for sustainable development binds us all. It is then up to each country to decide what that means in practice and what it will prioritise. That is the key issue for us. This is an important discussion, which is much wider than just the aid agencies that are working together in Dóchas. Deputy Kyne asked how we worked together and whether there were different approaches. Dóchas has 61 member organisations and they all have a different answer, but what binds us together is a very simple philosophy. We say that in order for poor people in poor communities to change their fate, they must organise. They must come together as a community, understand what their situation is and where their weaknesses are, where they are being exploited or where they are losing the fight. That is the key thing that all our members are convinced of. It is about community mobilisation.

That is a key factor about which all our members are convinced. It is about community mobilisation. If the members of a community come to us with an analysis of their situation, it is about facilitating and supporting them in developing and implementing a strategy to change the situation. That can be a technical solution at times. It can be about a road or a mill but it can also be more in the social or political area. It depends on the local situation and the local community.

We try to celebrate many of these differences. Deputy Crowe is right in that enormous progress is being made in developing countries, including Ethiopia. We know that the way we work works. We as non-governmental organisations know what we are good at and what we are not good at. There is a division of labour between the United Nations, agencies, governments and so on, but together we have a coherent approach through the millennium development goals and for the next 15 years through the next framework that will be agreed in September. That is why I want to emphasise the importance of the international negotiation process that is currently ongoing and, as the Deputy said, that is being chaired by Ireland. It is a phenomenal responsibility and honour for our country. For that reason alone, we need to look at it.

A question was asked about corruption. That comes back to my answer to Deputy Kyne's question. It is about organising people. Technology is helping us in this regard. If I, as an individual, am confronted by a corrupt policeman asking me to pay a bribe to use a road, there is very little I can do, although I can report it. In countries such as India and Kenya there are apps that people have on their phones - a smartphone is not required; it can be a dumb phone - that people can use to register that they were asked for a bribe by a policemen on a certain street at a certain time. If everybody reports this, a pattern emerges; it can be traced to an individual policeman and action can be taken. Amazing possibilities are being opened to us and our members are using these.

Ms Sharan Kelly mentioned the launch event we have on 22 January, where President Higgins will formally launch the European Year for Development and all the members' questions will be answered. We will have a high-level conference around innovation in development co-operation on 7 May, which I hope the members will attend.