Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When does the Government plan to finalise and release Ireland's national plan on business and human rights? The Minister mentioned the unpredictability of demands in relation to the UN, but have there been any demands in relation to Irish peace-keepers abroad in 2015? Has there been any increase? There is a €5.6 million decrease in D.3, contribution to international organisations. It seems a significant amount to look at the budget. Is there any background to that?

There has been mention of the Palestinian Authority. Money has been set aside for Gaza. I recently met people just back from there. The place has been flattened. There is very little activity going on there. It is difficult for politicians to get in - one cannot get in through Egypt or through the Israeli checkpoints. They are saying that there are issues with clean water, the price of gas, petrol, diesel, and electricity. The place is just levelled. They say they have never seen such frustration within the local population. We have allocated funding for that particular area, but is there any idea where and when it will be spent and on what projects? I presume one of the projects would relate to wells for water. The people I was talking to said that when one has a shower it is salt water, but there is also a smell of sewage from it because they are pumping it directly from the sea. I would be interested in the Minister's view on that.

There is corruption right across the world. If one looks at this country and the holes in the system politicians are at the top of the list, unfortunately. The fact that we are trying to address many of these issues is the key. The Uganda situation was identified through support that came from Ireland in relation to funding the Department there. There was another incident in another country we support.

Again, it was identified that funding that was going missing. It happens across the world. People want to be reassured that we are monitoring and getting the best value for money.