David Norris (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Conor Lenihan, to the House. He has already made his case on overseas development aid to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. I did not realise he had been pilloried and savaged over the Christmas, which I greatly regret. I deprecate that because I know he is a decent man and has real concerns in this area. However, I do not believe the Government's performance is satisfactory. I am glad to see someone resemble a distinguished parent. The Minister of State, like his father, is able to put the most wonderful spin on matters. One will leave the House tonight saying we are the most generous people on earth and commenting on how the people and the Government responded to the tsunami disaster.

Senator Lydon, who I greatly respect, referred to how Ireland has established an office in East Timor. However, it is piddly when compared to the generosity of the Timorese people during the tsunami disaster. Those bankrupted, deprived and ruined people who were exploited, colonised and the victims of attempted genocide, gave $50,000 to tsunami relief funds despite their poverty and misery. That should shame us. What that figure represents for those living on such tiny incomes is magnificent. Mr. Xanana Gusmao went to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to present it as a gesture of friendship. As we live in an interrelated world, these are the gestures we need.

I do not mean to be entirely negative when I refer to the spin, so full of glic, that the Minister of State employs. His performance was fascinating to watch when he declared the promise of 0.7% was made in the flush of economic prosperity. Was it really? What are we in now? Is the Government now saying that as a result of its policies we have gone backwards and are no longer flush? As we are doing pretty damn well, I understood the coffers were bulging.