Mr. Niall Burgess:

Our current policy framework was launched in 2013 and a lot has changed since. On the positive side, the sustainable development goals provide us with a very specific agreed comprehensive framework for global development. It is a guide which we did not have in 2013. That, in itself, is a strong argument for looking again at our policies.

In the past five years the demands on humanitarian assistance as a result of climate change and conflict have been very significant, as has the pull on our development assistance. We have contributed over €100 million in responding to the Syrian crisis alone since 2012. The context in which Irish Aid is operating is changing and many of the long-term development partnerships we have are in countries which are also dealing with the issue of climate fragility and very significant refugee-hosting countries. There is now a compelling reason to stand back and look at the good use being made of our aid and the prospect of a significant increase within a relatively short timeframe requires us to give thought to how best we can use it.