Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Gaffey and his team for coming in and for their detailed opening statement. I welcome the people in the Public Gallery. The best thing about being on a committee is that you do not come in with a fixed position. Keeping an open mind, you learn a lot from the people who make presentations.

I have an observation. This is exactly where we need to be. I commend everyone involved in the programme. Small nations, particularly island nations, should look after each other. We have a population the same size as Birmingham, so it is totally appropriate that we engage with like-minded islands across the world. We give about €1 billion in overseas development assistance every year. People might rightly ask if that money is well spent. The witness outlined why it is. There are three main reasons. The first is altruism. Even in its own right, we should look after people less fortunate than ourselves.

As Deputy Cronin mentioned, we should probably balance the books from a climate action point of view. Ireland is a net emitter, which we must be mindful of. Third, it was good to hear the witness mention migration, which is an issue globally. It is in Ireland's national interest that we try to look after the countries of origin to prevent any forced migration, at least. This is a classic example of money well spent.

This is my first Dáil term. I have been here for about four years. Nearly all of the events we have faced have been external to this country. We have been buffeted geopolitical events such as Brexit, the pandemic, Ukraine and the Middle East. Climate action has been the constant throughout. The second- and third-order effects are really affecting this country. Mr. Gaffey mentioned that some low-lying islands may be washed away in the future. I know a lot of factors are at play, but is there any indication of when that could happen? Are we talking about 2050, 2080 or 2100? Is there an approximate timeline for when the first of these small nations may be in serious trouble?

I thank the witnesses for their work and commend the programme. I am generally a positive supporter of overseas development assistance anyway but I am extremely supportive of this programme, in particular when Estimates come through.