Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

I join with other speakers in complimenting and congratulating the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, for the initiative he has taken and the work he has put into preparing this document, the culmination of which was the recent launch of the White Paper by the Taoiseach and other Ministers. It is clear that the Minister of State has spent considerable time and effort in drafting this document. Not only have objectives been set down, they have been underpinned with financial commitments which are clearly set out in the paper. As a former Minister of State with responsibility for overseas aid, I appreciate the huge amount of work the Minister of State and his officials have put into this. It will make a major contribution to dealing with the issues at national and international levels.

It is fair to say that for many years the overseas aid budget was an appendix to the Department of Foreign Affairs Estimate and therefore never got the attention it deserved during the preparation of Estimates. It was the poor relation of the Department of Foreign Affairs budget. Thankfully this has changed. I am glad that the Department of Foreign Affairs will manage this budget under the terms set out in the White Paper. There were suggestions that this might be hived off or broken up and that would have been a major mistake.

It is also significant that the Minister of State went to great lengths to involve non-governmental organisations in the preparation of this paper. More than 100 organisations made contributions to it. The Minister of State visited various cities and towns so that the public would have an input and the paper is better for that — it will be more authentic and will better stand the test of time. It is also important to acknowledge the contribution made by non-governmental agencies working with governmental agencies, the United Nations and other organisations in putting together initiatives to deal with this huge international crisis. The frightening figures outlined by the Taoiseach when launching the document, particularly the number of people, especially children, dying of malnutrition and AIDS, is an indication of the urgency and necessity to proceed along the lines set out in the White Paper and reach the targets contained therein. We appreciate the work of the NGOs, missionaries and others in contributing to this.

I also acknowledge the work of the Defence Forces in this area. I had particular opportunity to visit Irish personnel when they were in Lebanon and a major part of their peacekeeping effort was humanitarian. During my visits, the local community acknowledged the humanitarian work the Defence Forces were carrying out. While we have not had much time to study this paper in detail as it has only recently been launched, I am glad to see that Ireland will in future play an important role at United Nations level in helping streamline the various organisations that deal with aid issues. Given the financial commitment we are making, we will now have a stronger voice. This will also apply in the European Union, where we will be able to play a more vibrant role in proposing initiatives and ideas. It is welcome that in this document the Minister not only deals with the issues from the viewpoint of the Irish people but also sets out the contribution Ireland can make in the United Nations, the Council of Ministers and the Commission to charting the future course of international policies in this area. The previous speaker referred to the necessity to examine arms issues and other areas.

The trade negotiations are paramount. I had the opportunity, as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, to visit Tanzania and see the work being done in Kilosa. In his opening remarks the Minister of State referred to the necessity for people to be more aware of this issue by visiting the locations to see the work being done on the ground by the various State organisations and agencies, and international agencies, and the co-ordination of all those involved. The impact a small contribution can make on the lives and livelihoods of people in places like Kilosa in Tanzania is dramatic. It was an eye opener for me to see at first hand the devastation inflicted on those communities through lack of opportunity, poverty, disease and malnutrition, but to see also the relief that even a box of Aspro can provide to people in some of those isolated areas which get very little attention from the international community.

On the area of the trade negotiations, a point made to me by the Tanzanian authorities was that much of the overseas direct aid being provided could be significantly reduced if there was an initiative forthcoming in matters of trade. When I was in Tanzania the people were concerned about opportunities for marketing bananas and had they been in a position to market some of their own commodities, it would have taken away much of the unnecessary attention that was being given by international communities.