Ms Karol Balfe:

Accountability needs to be there for the money but as Ms McKenna said, it is the commitment to reach the furthest behind that is most important. If we look at the overall global spending on military, it is very concerning - it is in the trillions - at $2.4 trillion for 2023. Certainly, growing conflict is a reality for many countries but there is a strong argument to be made that growing defence and security policies are not reducing those conflicts. In the global context, that is a valid question to raise around the increased military spending and the increased securitisation of responses and decreased outcomes for people in regard to basic safety and personal outcomes.

Certainly, as NGOs, and we can speak to our part of what we deliver, we are very much accountable for how we spend that money in terms of reaching the furthest behind. People in those countries are experiencing poverty and inequality for reasons within their country, as well as some of the global issues I outlined. While we have those concerns, that is why it is so important that Ireland in its foreign policy is really pushing human rights and those values that are core and offer something really unique in the global space. We should, however, also question those big patterns around increased military spending globally.