The issue of the quality of aid is crucial. Some 50 or more years since western countries began trying to bring about development, the fact that there is so little progress speaks for itself. The emphasis of the programme must be on quality to have any prospect of success and, moreover, it must be seen to have this focus. The review by the OECD has found that, as acknowledged earlier, Ireland channels half of its overseas development assistance to least developed countries. This is the largest share among the 22 member countries in the DAC and contributes to achieving the millennium development goals. The programme has a long-standing focus on health and education, which is now complemented by a major focus on HIV and AIDS. We have maintained a laudable concentrated focus on a select number of very poor countries in our bilateral programme and we have moved in recent years to establish a strategic partnership with NGOs.