Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 74, 84 and 101 together.

Deputies will be aware that preparations are well advanced for the summit that will take place at the United Nations next September at which Heads of State and Government will seek to restore momentum to the achievement of the millennium development goals; agree on reforms that will strengthen the system of collective security, based on the United Nations; enhance the human rights function of the United Nations; and reform its institutions and management structures. It is a priority for the Government to do whatever it can to promote the success of the summit.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, was honoured to be appointed by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, as one of five envoys to act on his behalf in encouraging governments to take the decisions necessary to ensure a satisfactory outcome at the September summit. The appointment is an indication of the esteem in which Ireland is held by the Secretary General and of its track record of commitment to the United Nations. As UN envoy, the task of the Minister, Deputy Ahern, is to make the case for the broad package of recommendations and reforms set out in the UN Secretary General's recent report, In Larger Freedom.

The Minister was asked by the Secretary General to focus his efforts on Europe. However, none of the envoys is confined in his or her activities to any one geographic area and the Minister has recently undertaken a number of bilateral meetings, as envoy, with colleagues from a range of Latin American and Arab states.

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