Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of the most important recommendations made is that this committee should have a strong oversight role in calling on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to, at a minimum, meet the committee once a year. This is a problem generally. I do not think the public are fully aware of the large sums of money being spent, that they are being spent by somebody else and that we do not get a full report as to where they are being spent or by whom, or a report as to the progress that is being made as a result of this money being contributed. This is a real weakness in the local democratic process. It is lack of information. We assume that Dóchas and other groups will get on and do our work for us but that is not the way it should be. We should be part and parcel of that work.

I have been in the Dáil since 1981 and I can never remember regular, strong debates about the whole issue of how we spend overseas aid, or getting reports back and getting publicity so the public are made aware of how this money is being spent. I am not suggesting for one minute that these moneys are not being spent properly. It is all to do with communication. I have listened to the witnesses talk about the report, so I can learn a lot, but I am one of a privileged few getting this information at first hand, and it will not be reported nationally. That is a problem we have, as a committee. While I am not saying we want publicity individually, we want what we discuss to be presented to the public and debated. As a committee, we should do as the witnesses have suggested. I would go further and suggest we should get a quarterly or half-year report on all these issues, and that what comes from this committee should be brought onto the floor of the Dáil so that, hopefully, in that way we would create some sort of awareness. There is plenty of Dáil time available during certain periods of the year when very important issues like this could be debated. I suggest that we make a recommendation in our report that we get more Dáil time to make people fully aware of where their money is being spent, how it is being spent and by whom it is being spent. This would give some recognition to bodies like those represented today that are doing very important work because, by and large, nobody knows about it.

From my point of view, this is a communications problem. We spend too much time talking about minor issues and giving Dáil time and publicity in the newspapers to matters that are far less important than what we are talking about today. My basic point is that we need to raise the profile of the work these bodies are doing and of how overseas development aid is being spent. People do not pick up their newspaper and say: "That is very interesting. I did not realise we were doing X, Y and Z." The reason is that these matters are never covered.

I suggest that we make a strong recommendation in our report to increase the PR in respect of what is happening, not for our sake but for that of the public. Perhaps a six-monthly or annual report from Dóchas, Oxfam and Trócaire could be debated in the Dáil. It would help the profile of the agencies and the causes they are pursuing. Through this committee, we could give greater information to the public. That is my suggestion.