David Norris (Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate, which has been very well informed in nature. I was impressed by the Minister of State's contribution at this morning's meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, which was a useful exercise. It will come as no surprise to the Minister of State or other Members to realise that I fully support UNFPA. I had the privilege to visit Thailand where it engaged in a massively effective campaign in respect of HIV-AIDS. The honesty and openness of the instructions given to people on the verge of embarking on sexual life was very impressive.

I have been of the opinion for some times that population issues are the elephant in the room. Since I graduated from Trinity College, the world's population has doubled and it is now four and a half times larger than it was in 1900. We cannot ignore that fact. I applaud governments such as that in China for trying to face up to this problem. I accept that the Chinese may not have displayed sensitivity in doing so and that there may have been violations of people's human rights. However, unlike other institutions with political tentacles, they recognise that this is a real problem.

I am glad the Minister of State placed on record the truth regarding the position, particularly in the context of the charter of UNFPA. It is important to outline the real situation. UNFPA has always promoted a rights-based approach to family planning — not coercion — and in China this is clear. Those of us who believe in this important issue are delighted that Irish Aid has satisfied itself on numerous occasions that UNFPA is a deserving recipient of taxpayer's money and that there is no substance whatever to the allegations that have been made. The then Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Conor Lenihan, stated in October 2006 that, "We are proud to remain a strong funder of UNFPA notwithstanding the criticism of that agency, none of which is based on evidence".