Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Do any other witnesses wish to contribute? If not, and members have no further questions, I thank the witnesses sincerely for the comprehensive presentation and for the way in which they answered questions from members. I thank members for the direct questions, which were answered in a very direct way as well. We look forward to an improvement of the situation in South Sudan. It is fragile and volatile but we hope the political process can move on. I know elections have been postponed to 2017 but we hope they will take place in an open and transparent way for the people of South Sudan. We will keep monitoring the issue on this committee. We would like to see more interaction between the Red Cross and ourselves as it plays a very comprehensive role. We will keep in touch. I thank the witnesses for coming before us, as South Sudan was on our work programme. It is great to have had the head of the International Red Cross in South Sudan before us to answer questions from members and update us not just on the political position but what is happening on the ground for people and NGOs.

I remind members that there will be an informal meeting in the afternoon with a delegation from Somaliland, so Africa is very much on the agenda. The foreign Minister will be here and it is to be led by the President's son, Mr. Michael Higgins, Jr. I would appreciate it if as many people as possible could come to the meeting at 2.30 p.m. We have a budget next week and some will be relieved to know there is no formal meeting because of the many expected votes.