Ms Heydi Foster-Breslin:

On the key partner countries, the Irish Aid strategy of identifying the key partner countries and working closely with the host governments is to be commended. However, the concentration of aid cannot be allowed to result in people being left behind in other countries. This is somewhere where we might in differ. Misean Cara is in over 50 countries. Poor people in countries that have a attained middle income status are especially vulnerable in this regard. Inequality is a major development challenge. The OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, stated that we have reached a tipping point, that inequality can no longer be treated as an afterthought, that we need to focus the debate on how the benefits of growth are distributed and that work on inclusive growth has clearly shown that there does not have to be a trade-off between growth and equality - on the contrary, the opening up of opportunity can spur stronger economic performance and improve living standards across the board.

Development efforts then should address the needs of the poorest people in countries that are exhibiting development at a macroeconomic level, with a view to ensuring an equitable distribution of resources and access to opportunities. We believe that the Irish Aid programme should therefore remain open to funding targeted initiatives in countries where such needs exist. Often a relatively small investment can make a significant contribution to justice, equality and the realisation of human rights.

Again, while economies of scale are desirable, space has to be afforded to small-scale interventions. Often, these can act as incubators for innovative strategies that can later be replicated at scale. This was the case for a small education project in Zimbabwe, where a particularly successful methodology for accelerated literacy and numeracy education was used subsequently by UNICEF at a national level.

On the comment about missionaries and being proud when finding them when visiting other countries, we do not see the numbers declining. We do not see borders. One example is the Daughters of Charity, which has 21,000 members. How is the missionary movement declining? We work with 91 congregations and each congregation could have from 250 members to 21,000 members. How is that declining? We are alive and we are thriving. It is an energetic and innovative missionary movement. It is a fantastic Irish legacy and it is going to be there for a long time. Members will be able to be proud of the Irish missionary movement for many more years.