Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the witnesses. I apologise for not being here earlier. I had a conflicting commitment in the Seanad Chamber. However, it is good to have this opportunity. I thank all our guests for their work. I worked with Mr. Clarken in the past as a member of an Oireachtas committee. He gave of his time and wisdom and it was very much appreciated.

On what we are all doing and discussing, we live in such a worrying world. It is just so difficult. On every continent now, we are seeing war and man’s inhumanity to man. We are seeing it in a physical way and a financial way. Reference has just been made to a rate of 12%. I read a statistic that more than 75% of all low- and middle-income countries spend more on debt servicing than on healthcare. This is frightening. If we want to try to work towards an equal and just world, we need to do all we can to rectify that.

I had the opportunity to be involved with two Irish Aid projects in Tanzania and Uganda maybe 15 years ago. They related to young people with intellectual disabilities. In countries that are left behind, anybody born with a disability is completely left behind. As Ms Balfe will know, in many cases the dad will be gone and the mum will be left. Where there was a lot of AIDS, a girl of 11 or 12, a sister, might have been looking after the family or somebody with an intellectual disability. The funding provided by Irish Aid was small, amounting to €200,000 over a three-year span, but on the ground and through grassroots implementation, it made an incredible difference to the lives of children and families, even to the extent of providing an education scheme for growing fruit and vegetables sustainably and preparing them in a healthy way. The families started to grow the fruit and vegetables and had some income from them. The work on the ground is really good.

On Irish Aid, my colleague Deputy Brennan asked very pertinent questions about debt and important ones about where we go in this regard.

I understand Dóchas is an umbrella body and that it provides a lot of guidance, which is very important, but what role does it play in ensuring accountability and coherence in the developmental efforts of Ireland?

I have a related question. How does Dóchas support and strengthen the collaborative impact, both internationally and nationally? It was said that Dóchas has a lot of dealings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I am also interested in the Dóchas Worldview public engagement research project. While I am aware that it is ongoing, there have been no conclusions yet. Will the impact of immigration over the past few years make a difference to people’s views? Are we at that really delicate point? How do we overcome it? We need to.