Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As with the last allocation the funds seem to be staying the same. One of the international organisations to which we contribute is the UN. We seem to be paying in less, although in miniscule amounts. This seems to fly in the face of our commitments in terms of the UN and environmental degradation around the world. Will we expect to have to make larger increases to these international organisations in future? I have in mind the UN in particular, because the world seems to be becoming more volatile again and the UN may be needed to address peace and stability in some areas as well as the environment.

A separate question arises on human rights and the protection of human rights internationally. Again, the committee has done much work in this area. Is this an area where we should be increasing our contributions? Is it simply demand-led? Do we grant whatever the UN asks of us rather than looking to increase contributions specifically? Businesses and corporations that do not respect human rights need to be held to account for abuses of human rights, violations and environmental degradation. Should we be supporting international organisations that seek to tackle those problems?