Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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We have a quorum and shall commence in public session. Apologies have been received from Senator David Norris who is unable to join us. As the meeting is being broadcast live on television I ask people for their co-operation regarding their mobile telephones because they interfere with the recording equipment in the committee room, even on silent mode. I ask the people in the Visitors Gallery to ensure that their mobile telephones are switched off for the duration of the meeting as they cause interference. As today's meeting is being broadcast live on the Oireachtas channel I would appreciate if everybody would switch off their mobile telephones.

Usually the first item on the agenda is the minutes of the previous meeting but today I shall deal with them after we meet the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD. I welcome all of the delegation. We normally do not meet until Wednesday afternoon so members have travelled here on a Tuesday morning especially to meet the delegation and hear about this important review that takes place every four years. I am delighted to see an all-woman forum in attendance. It is not too often that we see one and we are delighted to have the delegation.

We are all aware of the work done by Irish Aid which is primarily aimed at reducing poverty and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. We are rightly proud of the efforts of Irish Aid and also the work of the development assistance committee of the OECD.

It enables the effectiveness of our aid programme to be measured. The next DAC peer review is due to be published in October. Today's meeting is a timely opportunity for an exchange of views with members of the committee, which will be very useful. The format of today's meeting will be a presentation by the Development Assistance Committee, followed by questions from the members.

I welcome Ms Karen Jorgensen and Ms Ida McDonnell from the OECD, Ms Maria Paula Marques Faria de Barro and Ms Ana Paula Lopes Fernandes from Portugal and Ms Eglé Blozniené from Lithuania. I know they are receiving good co-operation from our officials in Irish Aid. As I said, we have a very good aid programme, of which we are very proud. The committee travels abroad to visit some of the programme countries and we have seen at first hand the excellent work done by Irish Aid and our NGOs, of which we are very proud. I call on Ms Jorgensen, head of the review and evaluation division, to make her presentation.