Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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There was me thinking it was just a group of random people who had collectively decided our committee was the one they wanted to hear from.

I thank the witnesses for the presentation. As the Leas-Chathaoirleach said, some of the case studies are sobering, to put it mildly, not least in the case of the recollections from Sudan, Kenya and Uganda, which were harrowing. The truth is we will attend other meetings in two hours and they will have slipped our mind. Unfortunately, it is the job of organisations such as Dóchas to keep the public aware of the need for support and collective actions, both individually and as communities, states, governments and multilateral institutions.

For the purposes of this committee, we can deal only with what our Government can do. Sometimes this comes across as facetious, but it is important to reflect on what this means for Ireland when we do this right. We have a set of public forums approaching, as I am sure the witnesses will be aware, including a consultative forum on international security policy. We might leave aside the debates about that, but it is about Ireland's place in the world. Sometimes I think we miss some of the aspects of Ireland's place in the world for which we are most renowned and which give us what President Biden described when he was in the Dáil Chamber as Ireland's "moral authority". Part of that moral authority stems from, incidentally, our neutrality and our non-alignment but also, undoubtedly, from the role Ireland has played traditionally in the global south, through both development aid and the organisations that emanate from here. I would appreciate if the witnesses could speak to that. We are all selfish at the end of the day and it is important the public knows, not least when there is a big budget ask, that this is something from which we gain as well as positively contributing internationally.

I attended the launch of Dóchas's pre-budget submission, which sets out in stark detail why this is required. For next year's budget, there is a call for an increase of €305 million in the overseas development aid, ODA, budget. Where would that leave us in respect of the 0.7 of GDP commitment? I have not seen it in the documentation. How much further would we have to go? It is a lot of money, notwithstanding the current budget circumstances. I am conscious that in 2008, we were close to 0.6% of GDP going to ODA, and we then dropped for good reason, namely, the financial crash. I often wonder about the implications of when something like that happens. Do the witnesses go by the school of economics that says when you have money, you spend it, or is it better for organisations such as Dóchas if a consistent, steady growth brings us to that point as opposed to there being big jumps when the public finances are good, with the potential of a cliff edge and what that might mean for programmes that are at a mid-point?

I would appreciate it if the witnesses could speak to that.

A number of speakers referenced climate change and its implications. We know our own obligations in terms of climate action. We are meeting none of them in terms of targets set, but that is another debate. The witnesses stated Ireland should deliver €225 million for climate finance. I take it they see that as beyond the 0.7% of GDP allocation. Will the witnesses clarify that and indicate where they see that type of fund going in terms of the trajectory of the finance and what that would mean in terms of overall GDP and GNI?

We are told that the percentage of GNI is 0.64% but that includes first-year costs associated. I think much of the increase involves the provision of services for Ukrainian refugees who are in Ireland. That is a bit of an accounting trick. Clearly, we have obligations to people residing in Ireland. How they happen to be here is almost secondary. There is a sliding scale in terms of our rights and responsibilities regarding citizens, those seeking asylum and those who have been granted refugee status. Do the witnesses see that as a fair measure? Do they think that what we spend in Ireland, even for very worthy supports for people fleeing Ukraine and other war-torn areas, should be included in our accounting measures for overseas development aid?

A big míle buíochas to Dóchas and its representative organisations because, to answer my first question, the work they do gives us a moral authority and a standing in the world from which we benefit. It is not the reason we should do it but we do benefit from trade, investment and diplomatic relations that are founded in no small part on the work Dóchas does, so I again thank it for that.