Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

As the Minister of State noted in the previous response, we are working closely to achieve our goals over a period in respect of ODA. It is worth mentioning the six goals because Members have been discussing them in the abstract. The first goal is to contribute to international peace and security - no Government, irrespective of its make-up, will demur from that - and to promote conflict resolution and respect for human rights. This is at the core of our values as a nation. The second goal pertains to implementation of the Good Friday Agreement regarding which, thankfully, we have moved on. The goal regarding Irish Aid already has been discussed. Promotion of Ireland's bilateral relations with other countries and advancement of our economic interests remains a goal. However, the question arises as to how to achieve it. I refer to Deputy Timmins's earlier contribution and perhaps one can consider different deployments and methods to this end. As for securing Ireland's interests in the European Union, the Irish people will make a major decision in this regard on 2 October. The sixth high-level goal is to provide a high-quality passport and consular service to all Irish citizens and to engage with the Irish diaspora. While it may be that we will suffer some curtailment of our ambitions in respect of each area, I do not foresee our abandonment of any of these goals.

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