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

I thank the Minister of State. We are all conscious of the significant importance of this programme to so many in need of assistance affected by the many humanitarian crises across the world. Only yesterday the committee met the Red Cross representative from Mali. It is one of the worst countries on the poverty index, with a serious lack of access for its people to proper sanitation and education services.

It is a country we do not hear or read about now, which emphasises the scale of humanitarian crises there are throughout the world. My understanding is that spend on overseas development aid this year will be 0.3% of GNP, which is the lowest spend in this area for 17 years. We all know that the Government and every Department is facing huge challenges, but as a country we need to progress our achievement of the 0.7% goal to which we have been committed for some time. The sustainable development goals, in which Ireland, through the Minister of State, and his colleague, Mr. David Donoghue, played a huge part in achieving, are dependent on countries increasing their commitment to overseas development aid.

In regard to Brexit, will the EU development budget be impacted by Britain leaving the EU? We all have difficulties with Britain on many issues, but under successive Governments over the past decade or so it has managed to ramp up its contribution to overseas development aid. Whatever its contribution directly to the EU budget, there will be a loss following Brexit. We all complain, and rightly so, about the EU and its structures and governance, but it is the main donor in terms of overseas development aid in response to humanitarian crises. It is important to recognise that. At a time when there are, unfortunately, more crises and humanitarian need throughout the world, as a country Ireland needs to do better. The Minister of State will probably respond to the effect that there has been a change in the measurement of our GNP. Whether or not that is true I do not know, but we should be improving incrementally towards achieving the 0.7% of GNP.