Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

It is driven by our belief that the international community must respond to humanitarian crises and political oppression and that in doing so, we must invoke the universal standards of human rights. We must point to their grievous absence and measure progress by their application and enforcement.

Aside from peacekeeping, perhaps the most tangible example of the ethical basis of our approach to foreign relations is our commitment to overseas development aid, ODA. Irish Aid, with its focus on Africa and poverty reduction, is an expression of the values and interest of the Irish people in helping the world's poor. By 2009, our aid is likely to reach €1 billion. In 2012, Ireland will reach the UN ODA target of 0.7% of gross national income, GNI. This year, spending will exceed 0.5% of GNI, putting us in the vanguard of donors.

We spend this money because, as the Taoiseach writes in the foreword to the White Paper on Irish Aid:

Ireland can rightly claim to empathise with those who are suffering from disease, poverty and hunger every day around the globe. But empathy is not enough. Our actions must speak louder than our words ... Our aid programme is a practical expression of the values that help define what it means to be Irish at the beginning of the 21st Century.

As our aid programme illustrates, the values that inform and motivate our foreign policy are not static. Although based on firm foundations, they are dynamic and evolving, responding to the changing circumstances of our world. The establishment of the rapid response initiative is another example of this dynamism. The initiative aims to improve and enhance Ireland's ability to respond to humanitarian disasters. Similarly, the creation of the conflict resolution unit will allow Ireland to play a more active role in international conflict prevention and resolution, building on and utilising the very substantial success of the Northern Ireland peace process.

In the context of our expanding aid programme, both initiatives will improve our capacity to become a model United Nations member. In conception and operation then, as I have outlined in this House, I believe that Ireland's foreign policy is ethical by the high standards and ideals we have set ourselves and by the engagements and actions we have undertaken within the multilateral framework of the United Nations and Europe.

Through our commitments and actions we have successfully sought to give expression to the values and interests of the Irish people. This Government has built on the endeavours of previous Governments and earlier generations to ensure Ireland can not only maintain its place with pride among the nations of the world but also shape that world in the name of universal values and the common good.