Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As I am speaking on Leaders' Questions I will have to leave early. I congratulate Deputy Cannon on his appointment as Minister of State. He referred in his speech to the delegation that recently visited two countries in Africa. I was part of the delegation to Malawi and Mozambique. I am sure Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan and the Chairman will elaborate more on that. The clerk travelled with us.

I pay tribute to our ambassadors in both countries and the staff they have in their office. They do tremendous work. I do not think 99% of the people in this country realise the tremendous work the ambassadors and their staff do abroad to promote projects. We visited a number of projects. The cash transfer was the one I found most impressive. It involved only €10 a month. There is an old saying, give a little, it could help a lot, but by God it does. We visited an irrigation programme where water is now provided. A little co-op was set up and little business people run it. They are feeding themselves and making a few bob in selling their produce. I think approximately €80,000 or €100,000 was invested but it is remarkable to see what it has done for a small village. In Mozambique the Irish lead the education programme there. They provide funding for other countries as well. People work together and co-operate. That is an excellent approach to having a scheme involving more countries.

When we met with the EU ambassador he was highly impressed with the Irish team in Malawi and the programmes that are in place. He said that if the Irish office in Malawi had more staff it would give some funding to it to work on its programmes. I am sure the Chairman and Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan will elaborate on that also. Perhaps that is something that should be explored further with the ambassador in Malawi. It just shows how the Irish are viewed out there. I must also mention the tremendous work of the missionaries there.

As I said at the ambassador's residence the night we were there, everybody in the Oireachtas should go to see what the Irish Aid programme does in Africa. I know that might not be possible but if all Members went they would come back and fight to increase the aid. One often hears people ask why we are giving money to help people abroad and that we should look after our own first. People in Africa are human beings as well and they feel pain and hurt. They suffer from starvation and death. When we met the foreign affairs Minister in Malawi I asked what is the biggest challenge facing the African continent. The Minister of State referred to it in his opening statement. It is population growth. The Minister of State referred to job creation. Malawi has a population of 17 million and the projection is that it will be 40 million by 2030. That is a major problem on the African continent and it will have to be addressed. That is unsustainable. The country is struggling to feed 17 million so how will it feed 40 million? As has been said, Tanzania is not going to create 2 million jobs a year. That is not possible. I do not know what to do but I am a firm believer in education. If one educates people that might be the way forward. I wish the Minister of State the best of luck and congratulations on his appointment.