Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

The year 2025 is the most dangerous year in the history of mankind to be a humanitarian worker. There is the world's largest humanitarian disaster occurring in Sudan and there is a genocide taking place in Gaza. There are two man-made famines. At this time, we have men and women who are prepared to enter that fray to provide humanitarian relief, the vast majority of whom are working for UN agencies. Funding is part of it but the level of danger they are stepping into should not be discounted, either.

I have met quite a number of UN officials in recent weeks, as has the Deputy and all of the officials around me who have spent their life doing it. They personally know friends and colleagues who have lost their lives in conflict. They will always say that funding cuts to ODA costs lives. Funding cuts to the agencies of the UN providing humanitarian support or peacekeeping support is dangerous and will lead to a loss of life. We have to be brave enough to spell that out. We have to make sure that missions are fully capitalised. We believe they are and we believe it is right that Ireland continues its contributions to the United Nations, its agencies and the wider, multilateral system.