Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I apologise for my brief absence, in which I missed the contributions of Senators Cummins and Ormonde. They may rest assured that I will examine their contributions in detail in due course. All the contributions to which I had the pleasure of listening were very insightful and, in some cases, thought-provoking, particularly in the case of Senator Alex White.

This debate is very timely and useful in informing the Government's response to this important report. In a world that is relatively affluent and which appears to be consumed, 24 hours per day, by financial crises involving billions and trillions of dollars, euro and yen, we should note that, at the end of this debate, 862 million will be hungry.

If this debate achieved anything, it was the focus on this extremely powerful statistic, of which we must not lose sight. Senator Walsh mentioned that the statistic includes one in every seven people on the planet. Those affected are sometimes consigned to a life of physical retardation and, worse, severely retarded mental development, which consigns them to a life of pure misery. These are the facts and we must ask how we should deal with them.

I reflect the views of the House in expressing my appreciation for the work of all those experts who spent valuable time producing this report, not least our former colleague Joe Walsh. Senator Butler was correct that Mr. Walsh brought political experience to bear on the report in addition to his agricultural experience. From my contact with many on the hunger task force, I note he was very skilful in producing the very focused report. The issue is so multifaceted that the report could have been lost in a myriad of details and statistics. Mr. Walsh focused the minds of the team of experts and they produced a very concise and readable document. He stated at the launch that a report that did not make uncomfortable reading was not worth writing at all. It certainly does make uncomfortable reading for all the Governments to which it applies.

Senator Alex White made a very insightful contribution. He made a point on terminology and referred to the "war on hunger". I do not know if the Senator was present when Senator Butler stated he agreed with this term because one could substitute the term "war" for "fight". It is a fight and struggle in which we must engage.The Senator's point that the currency is debased was well made. The irony is that much of the hunger is as a result of war and conflict throughout the world, a point that should not be lost on us.

Senator Alex White made the interesting point that the resources of the world are fundamental and that their transfer and the redressing of global imbalances between the northern and the southern hemispheres is key to this issue, which I accept, notwithstanding that we are making a real contribution in a non-monetary way through this report by promoting debate and giving leadership on the international stage. The irony is that Africa, to focus just on that continent, is blessed with enormous resources. However, it does not always have the capacity in which to realise those resources, or in some cases those resources are raped by the northern hemisphere. These are issues of which we ought not lose sight.

Senator Alex White also made the point that in some cases financial institutions wield more power than sovereign governments. While that might not be the case after events on world stock markets in the past week, his point is well made. It reminded me of a point made by Professor Jeffrey Sachs at the launch of the report when he noted that the total of all the bonuses paid on Wall Street in 2007 was more than all of the aid for Africa in 2007 from all sources. If that statistic does not hit home hard, I do not know what does. Perhaps in light of their losses this week, some people might reflect on that interesting statistic.

Senator Buttimer made a very interesting contribution which questioned whether we are serious about giving aid, which was a theme of many speakers. The Senator asked whether we intend to deliver and whether we are showing real leadership. I believe we are showing leadership by virtue of commissioning this report and by examining it to ascertain how it can inform our programme, which I assure the House it will. Also, by tabling it on the world stage in front of the Secretary General of the United Nations in a week of major turmoil when major issues were being discussed in New York, we were very much at the heart of events. The Taoiseach went to New York and launched this report to great acclaim in front of the UN Secretary General and major players on the international stage. If that is not leadership, I do not know what is.

I agree with the point made by Senators Hanafin and Walsh that we should use our influence in Europe. At a meeting of development Ministers in Europe last week, I was in a position to literally hand the report to every development Minister present and to ask them to read it and apply it in their own country development programmes. This formed the basis of much of our discussions in Bordeaux last week. Therefore, I believe we have shown leadership and that we are very much at the forefront of the international effort in terms of aid.

The point was made by several speakers, including Senator Walsh, that if it does anything, the report serves to refocus our minds. This country has a long and tragic history of food shortages. We need to refocus our programme in terms of tackling this issue. I assure the House that, as Minister of State, this is not lost on me and was not lost on me even before the publication of this report. We may need to re-prioritise among the different calls on our funding, be it for education, health or small or large projects. At the end of the day, none of these means much if people in sub-Saharan Africa in particular do not have enough food. The report focuses on hunger and the need to give people, especially women and children, adequate food and nutrition. If it achieves this and if it informs the way the Irish aid and development programme will operate in years to come, it has served a very useful purpose.

I conclude by noting that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who produced the report. We certainly will examine its conclusions very seriously. It has refocused our minds on the hunger which, unfortunately, is still all too prevalent on planet Earth today.