Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

While the Minister stated that the proposals to emerge incorporated the best aspects of the Commission on Human Rights and the concept originally proposed in the August draft outcome, does he agree the outcome is a watered down version of the original proposal? Amnesty International, for example, described it as a betrayal of human rights. What is the Government's view of the final outcome? What will be the Government's priorities in terms of the negotiations on the out-workings of this council?

The Minister has also stated in the past that implementation of the UN change agenda would be a major priority over the coming months. I argued consistently here for a debate on UN reform prior to the summer recess. We did not manage a proper debate; we had a short debate. How will the Minister engage with this House and the Irish people on the UN change agenda suggested? What will he do to ensure people at local level feel ownership of the UN, the process of change and that which is suggested for the future? I suggest he might talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, who undertook public meetings on development aid which worked well. That is a model which might be suggested for use in the case of UN reform.

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