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

The policy on international development, One World One Future, is a good strategy and, as the Minister of State, Deputy Joe Costello, stated at a meeting of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade to discuss the Department's Estimates, builds on the 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid, rightly emphasising the importance of development co-operation as a central feature of our foreign policy and reputation abroad. One of the reasons we are committed as a country to a substantial overseas development aid, ODA, programme is we believe a stable, fair and equal global community is in our interests as a nation. In some ways, overseas aid is the price we pay for a global system in which small countries such as Ireland can thrive. I hope the Minister of State can assure us about his commitment to reaching the target set.

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