Ms Suzanne Keatinge:

I will respond briefly to the idea of having a collective voice on these issues and on what Ireland might do to close the funding gap. As we have said, this is only the start of the process. At this stage, we are very much at the beginning of the conversation. I attended the UK national platform conference last week and noted a real energy among the other national platforms to start working much more closely on this issue. Having heard what is going on in the United Kingdom, this is about making the case for aid in an environment in which public trust in our sector is really struggling. To reinforce that idea, we need to work with a collective voice, but we also need champions to ensure aid will not be pushed aside. We need that championing of the importance of international development. As to whether Ireland will step up to the mark in the provision of finance, that is what we would welcome. We are at a figure of 0.3% of GNI in ODA and have to see the trend increase. We ask for this to happen quickly, albeit in a measured way. It is about having practical dialogue with members of the committee and others to determine how we can make it happen. The budget process is coming up in October and we need to see progress made in that context.