Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a short input to make. I get worried when I hear people mixing overseas development aid and neutrality. I am looking here at 2013 to 2022. Some €2,236.55 billion was pumped into ten states as overseas development aid. When I look at the states in question and the military armament they have, they have viable air forces and viable navies and massive tanks, personnel carriers and numbers of people. What if I come out to your house tomorrow morning and say I am going to pay your ESB bill and feed and educate your family, you are now able to buy a big fancy car now because you do not have to fund the cost of your family? Overseas development aid is a really good thing and I totally agree with what the Chairman is saying. We should be heavily involved in ODA. However, we need to step back and review where we are putting our money and how that money is being used.

For example, yesterday, the Tánaiste mentioned Mozambique and the work being done there. I informed him that they have a viable airforce and a viable navy - I think they have around 60 ships. I laid out the number of personnel carriers and tanks they have. If we are educating their population or looking after their health system, of course they are able to have an airforce or whatever else.

If we want to interdict something in our sky, we have to fly up there and ask whoever is up there to drop to 10,000 ft. because we cannot go any higher or to slow down to 600 knots because that is as fast as we can go. If we are going to spend our money, first, we should not be trying to tie ODA and defence and neutrality under the same umbrella. They are different vehicles.

Second, the review of ODA and NGO funding needs to happen in this country. We are pumping billions out and I am not sure where most of it is going. I do not know what the Chair's view of that is-----