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

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, for his introductory remarks. As he will be aware, we have ongoing engagement on a regular basis with non-governmental organisations. I take the opportunity to compliment them on the excellent work they do, both from an advocacy point of view and through their personnel who are out at the coalface delivering services in difficult situations. I read a commentary recently that stated that quite a number of member countries of the World Health Organization are concerned about the structure and workings of the WHO. This arises particularly in the context of a much too slow and inadequate response to the Ebola outbreak. I presume that Irish Aid is a donor to the World Health Organization. Presumably, the Department of Health is the lead Department. Perhaps the Minister of State would commend on the need to have a much more effective World Health Organization.

I do not support tied aid. However, one question that is continually put to us as public representatives is whether we could source at home more of the products that are needed in countries where we are generous contributors. Some years ago, DIT Kevin Street was doing work on developing food products suitable for the dietary requirements of those in parts of Africa and conflict zones. If we could source more Irish product, it would be a winner in getting across the message about the value of the Irish Aid programme from the point of view of both assisting the poorest in the world and creating employment at home. Under no circumstances would I suggest the idea of tied aid.

The Minister of State referred to the peer review of the development assistance committee of the OECD. I recall that one of their recommendations was to strengthen mechanisms for identifying potential conflicts and resolving existing tensions. In this respect, have the issues with regard to the first biennial report on Ireland's progress on policy coherence for development been agreed? This is one of the matters that has been raised with me. When is that likely to happen and when can we anticipate receipt of the first biennial report?

The development assistance committee also recommended greater enabling of external stakeholders here in Ireland. In particular, they recommended more regular dialogue with the interdepartmental committee on development, IDCD. They recommended publishing the schedule of IDCD meetings, sharing advance notice of agendas for meetings and inviting submissions from external stakeholders on the work of that committee.

I have two concluding questions. How has the change in measurement by EUROSTAT of our gross domestic product, which was to our benefit in 2014, affected the calculation of the percentage of gross national income that we contribute in ODA, and has that generated a bigger gap between us and our desired 0.7% target than the earlier measurement? The Minister of State mentioned that 2015 would be a landmark year in the global fight against poverty. I believe that this would be an opportune time to signal to the international community the priority that we as a country will attach to trying to achieve the 0.7% target. The third conference on financing for development is coming up in July. Would Deputy Sherlock envisage the establishment or outlining of a roadmap for achieving the 0.7% target in advance of that conference?

There is one other issue. I do not know how the Minister of State interacts with other Departments on Ireland's proposals and legislative measures on climate change. It is an area of significant importance in the part of the world we are trying to assist.