Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe ar an lá is faide sa bhliain. Tá an t-ádh dearg orthu go bhfuil Uachtarán Juncker inár measc inniu so beimid go léir ag dul amach an geata roimh 12 meán lae. Is rud nua dúinn é sin. Táimid go léir sásta leis sin.

First of all I want to thank the Department. We recently went on a trip to Tanzania, and as has already been said by my colleague Deputy Alan Farrell, our hosts went above and beyond the call of duty. I want to thank the ambassador. I drew a blank on the name of the head of development, Ms Bronagh Carr. I give particular thanks to her, and also to Ms Olivia Kinabo, who is with us today. I will come back to some of the issues in a minute. On a positive note, the trip was certainly very good. It certainly was not a junket and it was well worth it. We experienced a range of projects. A group of people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS, gave us the privilege of seeing them dancing. We saw a connection between an Irish doctor and Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin. That hospital is crumbling at the seams in my opinion, yet it was able to work very closely with the doctor and their staff in Tanzania, with both sides learning about the diagnosis of rare cancers.

I also want to thank the Passport Office. The word "grace" has been mentioned. I will get to the negatives in a minute, but certainly my experience with the Passport Office, under great pressure, has been that they operate with great grace. The interface with the citizen is extremely important. Of course, the passport is a vital document, so I thank the witnesses for that.

Regarding the accounts, a clear audit has been given but there are a number of questions I would like to ask. I have read it all and I was a tiny bit confused. I think I am clear now. Bilateral aid just about gets the bigger amount, and then there is the other aid. Bilateral aid comes under international co-operation. I wish to ask the Comptroller and Auditor General if I am correct in that or am I mixed up? There is multilateral aid and bilateral aid.