Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

We can raise our voices in all the international forums at which we are represented, including the foreign ministers' forum, which the Tánaiste attends, the development ministers' forum, which I attend, and the UN agencies. We have consistently raised our voices at international level. At the recent meeting of development ministers in Poland, I raised the need for a co-ordinated response from the European Union in this context. We also have a presence through Irish non-governmental organisations on the ground. It is difficult to get into Somalia with aid. Agencies like Concern, Trócaire and the International Committee of the Red Cross have a long-term presence and local staff in Somalia. We receive a great deal of information about what is happening on the ground through those agencies. The answer to the Deputy's question is that we have to continue to use whatever opportunities we have in an international context, for example through the EU or the UN, to raise these issues and support any measures being taken to bring some kind of peace and stability to the area in question.

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