Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Okay. There were many references in the discussion to the target of 0.7% of GNI. We, as a Government, are committed to that. It was restated at the launch of the policy by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and myself, which Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan attended. There continues to be consensus on that target at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, in the most recent budget, allocated an additional €110 million to our budget, the largest such increase in more than a decade. That is in the order of the figure we need to achieve and increase by approximately €100 million every year between now and 2030. Thankfully, we have complete consensus on that. If it transpires that such consensus begins to unravel, and I do not expect it would, I ask that those who have been most vocal in supporting it will continue to support it. I am confident that is exactly the case that will be apply in the future.

Having produced the policy, we have, as Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan stated, talked the talk; we must now walk the walk. We move to the next phase of the journey, which is positioning Ireland to deliver on that ambition outlined in the policy, A Better World. As we look to 2030, maintaining our high standards and consolidating the quality for which we are known will continue to be at the heart of what we do.

Achieving our vision to see that better world is also about achieving commitments at home. Many Deputies rightly raised the issue of climate action. Thankfully, we are close to seeing a consensus, with the absence of Sinn Féin and perhaps one or two others, emanating from the Joint Committee on Climate Change, chaired by Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, on what exactly we need to do to honour our commitments and show that we have that absolute policy coherence when it comes to advocating for climate change actions internationally.

That is a commitment and an agenda for many Departments, including mine, responsible for delivering on the sustainable development goals which, ultimately, will help to achieve that better world. In that regard, I look forward to continued strong collaboration across all Departments in positioning Ireland to strategically contribute to addressing key global challenges. There can be no doubt that those global challenges are absolutely immense.

It is a simple fact that our people's vision of a more peaceful, equal and sustainable world will not be possible without ensuring equal rights and opportunities for half the world's population who are women and girls. Gender equality is both a basic human right and fundamental to sustaining peace, building a strong economy and a prosperous and healthy society. However, we are seeing a rolling back of some of the hard-won gains in achieving gender equality in recent years. The challenges we are facing highlight the central and fundamental necessity of inclusive and resilient governance institutions that can underpin the social contract, foster collective action and deliver better outcomes for all our citizens.

Ireland remains absolutely committed to being at the forefront of global efforts to deliver on the vision of the sustainable goals and a better world for those most vulnerable and for future generations. We remain committed to playing a leadership role in ensuring that Ireland embraces change, invests in innovation and reorients our interventions as we work to build the more equal, peaceful and sustainable world we want to see and of which we want to be part.

Embracing technological innovation - we had a wonderful discussion on this matter, hosted by UNICEF, at Facebook's headquarters this morning in the context of exactly how to proceed - holds the promise of innovative solutions central to our work in working towards a better world in the future. We will work to ensure that the benefits of that innovation will extend to everyone, especially women and girls.

I again thank Deputies for their contributions. I look forward to working with all of them as we redouble our efforts in pursuing that vision outlined in a policy for international development, A Better World.

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