Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is good to see all the witnesses back here again and the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon. I fully agree with what Deputy Grealish said about our recent visit. It was a very comprehensive and full-on visit. We have amazing ambassadors in Gerry Cunningham and William Carlos. I acknowledge them and their staff. I also acknowledge their wives who play a role that is often not acknowledged at all.

The projects Deputy Grealish mentioned are very impressive. I also wish to mention food and nutrition and what is being done in that regard with Irish support to ensure that babies, children and women were getting the right amount of nutrition. It is great to see the provision of education and in particular girls going into education but it must be quality education. It is not enough to just get the numbers in and to tick the boxes to say there are more people in education. We must be really strong on the kind of education they are getting.

There is no doubt about the value of our bilateral aid but that brings us to questions about multilateral aid. People have said it is important that we are part of the multilateral aid programmes but there is a need for rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the aid so that we know exactly where it is going.

We are a member of the Ireland-European development fund management committee. That is not something we hear about yet we are a member of it. What is happening in that regard? Could the Minister of State also speak about the monitoring of the development co-operation budget?

Ireland and other countries are expressing concerns about the EU trust funds yet we are doubling the money we are giving. There is no doubt about the difficult situation in Libya and concerns have been expressed but the funding is still going into a country that is dysfunctional. It would appear that a lot of the money is going to the various groupings but they are militia groups as well. There are genuine concerns over where the money is going. Dreadful reports are coming out about slave markets. At an informal meeting with another NGO this week the point was made that sometimes organisations come in and make one visit and they do not go back to follow up on the first visit when the funding was given to see where it is going. It is not enough to express concern, we must be more proactive.

I acknowledge all the submissions we got from the various organisations. One thing that came through to me was the importance of policy coherence. Our decisions on climate change and tax must be complementary to our humanitarian budget because sometimes they are not. I acknowledge in particular the submission on disability. Perhaps we can put in a specific percentage requirement for disability funding for bilateral and multilateral aid to show we are conscious of people with a disability, both mental and physical.

We see an increasing military agenda in Europe. It was great to see the recommendation on human rights and business but there was no mention of the arms and weapons industries and that was disappointing.

Because Irish Aid is so valued and respected, perhaps there is a need to look at extending to other countries. This year I became chair of the Irish-Nepal friendship group. I met a number of the Nepalese community in Ireland and their Irish supporters. There is no doubt but they would love to be considered a partner country. I do not know whether we could have mini partners as opposed to major partners but it would be very good to look at that. Could the Minister of State also comment on our relationship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNWRA, funding?