Mr. Jim Clarken:

We as Oxfam worked with the support of Irish Aid for many years in Rwanda on rebuilding peace at a community level - the Senator mentioned communities. We worked neighbourhood by neighbourhood, community by community. It was hugely impactful local peace. It can be seen in South Sudan, working between those who herd and those who farm. There are intercommunity spaces where key, small amounts of funding, relatively speaking, have made a big difference in keeping stability and building cohesion among communities. The Senator also asked about Ireland in the multilateral space. We cannot take for granted Ireland continuing to do what it is doing to fully embrace and be a champion for multilateralism. We see others withdrawing. It has always been in our interest as Ireland but it is really in the global interest. We must also look to allies. We have seen recently on the EU-Israel Trade Agreement, for example, engagement with Spain, Norway, Luxembourg and other countries. There are like-minded countries out there. They need to see Ireland in the room with its strong reputation; Ireland is considered as a responsible global citizen. It played an important and significant role at the UN Security Council when it was on the body. We must not lose sight of that and keep up the momentum, not allowing contagion to frighten us from being in those spaces and creating those opportunities to engage with others.