Mr. Niall Burgess:

I will ask Ms O'Connell to say a few words about the hurricane because we have been considering these issues in recent weeks.

Regarding communication, the point about videos is well taken. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has been discussing this matter with us. The people we are trying to reach, including those in schools, do not consume their information through annual reports. They consume it through 30-second and 60-second videos. We have been talking internally about re-examining our skills, including those on bilateral aid missions. Communication skills are not something that we have put on the front line of our development activities. It is not the case that the onus for determining how we can better communicate what we are doing is only on us as much as it is on others.

All of our bilateral aid is 100% untied. The OECD picked up on this point when it reviewed our aid. If we are not unique in that regard in OECD terms, then we are almost unique. That reflects on trade, in that our bilateral aid is not tied to trade, and on militarisation. On the latter point, there is discussion under way in the EU, with a Commission proposal that would essentially determine that EU funds would not be used for the procurement of military equipment.

One of the issues that we need to consider is security. The spectrum of what we do contributes to security - human security, food security and gender-based violence - all the way up to the participation of Irish volunteers in international crisis management and peace support operations. As we speak, 600 Irish people are participating on 14 missions, including in places that are dangerous and not well known, for example, Niger and Somalia. There is a story that we have yet to tell about how that spectrum of activity contributes to human security in insecure parts of the world.

Regarding the SDGs, we should take on board and reflect on the point about support for volunteers who have returned to Ireland. Once they have come home, they are a major asset and resource for our development activities.

We work closely with civil society in our country programmes. As it must be, a large element of those programmes is directed at building up civil society as an important part of the future of those societies and as a basic assurance that development activities are well run and overseen. In our foreign policy, one of our two keynote human rights policies - we are the voice for this policy in human rights fora, including most recently at the UN Human Rights Council - is on the protection of civil society space. At the UN and elsewhere multilaterally, Ireland is rightly seen as a leader on that issue.

I attend schools from time to time and am always struck by the images on the walls and the questions asked. One will not be asked about 0.7%, but one will see images of Irish peacekeepers and Irish Aid in many classrooms. Mr. de Búrca can discuss what we do in terms of development education, which has been a strand of our work for some time. In our transition year programme, for example, we bring transition year students into the Department for a week every year. A large part of what they do relates to our development programme. It is always one of the areas on which we get the most positive feedback, but there is scope to do more.

Ms O'Connell might speak briefly about the hurricane, after which Mr. de Búrca might pick up on the other issues.