John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)

USAID's mission statement is similar to that of the hunger task force, as are recent comments by President Obama and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Apart from the three-year partnership for Malawi, it is a significant step for the Irish Aid programme and our overall overseas aid budget that we are seeking to co-ordinate our efforts with USAID on food security issues. As I understand it, the US aid body is the largest food donor in the world, contributing almost half the global figure in dollars. Is it the case that Ireland is now beginning to co-ordinate with USAID in our programme countries throughout Africa?

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