Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

The Tánaiste is to be commended for holding this conference, which is an important initiative. We have a lot to offer and can become much more proactive in the whole area of conflict resolution. I see this very much in the context of developing Ireland's reputation abroad, boosting our opportunities for trade and augmenting our development aid budget. As that last is constrained, we could find that, by virtue of a role in conflict resolution, we could achieve far more on behalf of beleaguered people in various parts of the developing world. So much of what we see in terms of hunger and deprivation has its origins in conflict.

What the Tánaiste is doing is to be commended, therefore, but how ambitious is he to develop this initiative further? Can we, via the OSCE and our membership of the European Union, garner greater resources to put into the conflict resolution unit that was established in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2007 and take on the myriad challenges in which we might assist?

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