Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

We know there will be so many demands on our budget and we are talking about cuts, but it is only moral and just that we should try to maintain our development aid budget. It is really important that such aid is effective. There is a definite role for Parliament since parliaments are different from governments.

I am glad the Minister is considering the progress being made, but in the draft outcome document the word "oversight" is still not included. We know of countries where the aid has been manipulated by governments and it is really important that it is validated by parliament so that the aid is distributed fairly and justly. The question is: will Ireland take a strong position at EU level before Busan to ensure that the word "oversight" is in the document?

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