Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Joint Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence I express our appreciation to Ms Simpson, Ms Ossig and Ms Leahy for their time, engagement and the direct manner of their contributions and replies to many of the observations and questions of committee members. I offer our condolences and sympathies to them and their organisation on the tragic loss of their members throughout the world but, in particular, in Ethiopia, as mentioned earlier. That is testament to the very real and dangerous work undertaken by their members on behalf of the humanitarian needs of people on a daily basis. I am loath to offer congratulations to them on their 50th anniversary because it is a word that Ms Simpson indicated she would not use. In deference to her position let me acknowledge on behalf of committee members 50 years of endeavour on the part of their organisation and members, often in the most challenging and conflicted parts of the world. We wish them well, and safety for future years in that regard.

Our members listened carefully to witnesses' comment on the matter of the TRIPS waiver. We have engaged with our fellow Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and have been in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs; in fact we produced a report on this issue as far back as last March. It is an issue that has exercised members of our committee. We will continue to advocate in that regard and we will again, following this meeting, contact the Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Tánaiste, and of course the Department of Foreign Affairs with which we liaise on a regular basis. I thank the witnesses for being with us. We look forward to hearing from them again in the context of their work, and ours.