John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Are the minutes of 29 January 2015 agreed to? Agreed.

The committee has received an invitation from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade requesting a delegation of the committee to examine the Irish Aid programme as well as the performance of our trade mission in Vietnam. In view of the costs involved, the delegation would have to be confined to two or three members. I will ask the clerk to the committee to liaise with members to see who might be interested in attending.

The Minister sets out in correspondence the total amount spent in the programme from 2011 to 2015 - €55 million. He also emphasises the importance of Vietnam in our trade relations with south-east Asia generally and that Vietnam’s economy has 90 million people. It is important to the growth of our exports. If members have a view on that, they can talk directly to the clerk of the committee. The suggested date is 7 March 2015. If members are agreeable to accepting the invitation from the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Sherlock, we can then undertake to make the arrangements.