Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister on the substantial progress made. I recall one of the Minister's predecessors, Brian Cowen, saying, when we won one of the rotating seats on the UN Security Council some years ago, that we had people willing to support us based on the Irish contribution to their countries over many years.

The Minister said that 1 billion people go to bed hungry every night. I read some commentary recently in which that figure was revised downwards. When he has an opportunity he might instruct his officials to find out the best estimate for that figure. However, regardless of what the figure is, we all deplore the fact that so many people are hungry when so much wealth is lost under the many different regimes. I ask the Minister to ensure that is addressed through the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

There are different agencies working in this area and there is a great transfer of knowledge from this country. At yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade we had an informal meeting with a delegation from the Congo during which its representatives told us about their very rich farmland. That is a country where there has been protracted conflict resulting in the deaths of more than 5 million people in a relatively short period. At the same time, its rich resources are not being utilised. There is a huge task ahead and I wish the Minister well in every forum available to him and urge him to use the Presidency of the EU Council to keep these issues on the agenda. As he rightly said, we are all conscious of what our country suffered, and for those of us who come from parishes where workhouses were located, and the graveyards are located still, it is a constant reminder of what our previous generations experienced.

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