Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I suppose my question is probably a simpler one. I would like to know if expanding Ireland's footprint globally includes meeting our commitments on overseas development aid. This would require a very substantial uplift in the work that is being done by the Irish programme in a number of countries, particularly a number of very poor countries in Africa where the focus is to try and assist people, particularly women and children, many of whom are in extreme poverty. We gave an undertaking as a country a long time ago to a 0.7% of GDP commitment for overseas development aid. In this plan to expand our footprint, has the Taoiseach made any specific proposals that we would reach that commitment?

We are now falling behind for the good reason that the economy is expanding again but I assume it will not take five, ten or 15 years to reach the commitment. I ask the Taoiseach to give the House an indication of where overseas development aid and support for the work of organisations like Trócaire, whose representatives were in this House last week, actually fits in.

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