Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I also welcome the ambassador and her colleague. I wish the ambassador well in her challenging assignment in Dublin. I have no doubt her presence here will strengthen the relationship between Ireland and Nigeria, especially in the context of our economic links. I hope we can assist her country in many ways into the future. I welcome the update the ambassador provided on her country's successful fight against Ebola and I acknowledge the recognition it has received from the World Health Organization in respect of the good work being done in this regard. I hope Nigeria succeeds in keeping Ebola outside of its borders.

With regard to the awful situation of the children abducted by Boko Haram, during the course of the ambassador's presentation she stated that a number of the children have managed to escape. How many of the 270 children abducted have managed to escape? I ask her to estimate or indicate the numerical strength of the Boko Haram insurgents.

I support much of what Senator Norris said about the human rights violations and in particular the Nigerian Government's attitude to homosexuals. I would be very concerned about the signing of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013. The issue of same sex marriage is a live issue in our own country and many people would have grave concerns about the passing of the legislation which prescribes penalties of ten to 14 years in prison for people who are caught in gay relationships. This is particularly regrettable. I refer to other issues such as the death penalty and the use of torture and evictions. This follows on from what Deputy Eric Byrne said about the number of the ambassador's fellow countrymen who have arrived in this country claiming refugee status.

Deputy Byrne referred to Nigeria's economic difficulties and that €50 billion is earned annually from oil. Agriculture was traditionally the backbone of the Nigerian economy and I know that sector has been in serious decline for many years. I understand that the President of Nigeria has a programme to modernise agriculture. I ask the ambassador to give the committee a flavour of this programme. The supply of electricity is another major issue for the country. We are dealing with some issues in this country with regard to alternative forms of energy in parts of the country where we need to boost our electricity supply. I am interested to hear what is being done in Nigeria to improve the generation of electricity.