Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I am not afraid of using platforms like that to remind people of human rights obligations. It was also fair, even though he digressed slightly from the motion before us, that the Minister of State spoke about our having a policy in regard to stateless people here and how we support them. The example of Burma was excellent. I had the privilege of being the only Member of either House of the Oireachtas to attend a gathering in Iveagh House when the National League for Democracy representatives were being hosted by the Irish Government which allowed them to hold their fourth convention, which examined the idea of a new Burmese constitution and how and when democracy can be firmly established in that country. We can be very proud of the role that Ireland is playing there.

In regard to the historic collaboration with the Bush Administration in the rendition programme, I am not sure whether "collaboration" is the correct word or whether the outgoing President of the United States is a person one would wish to be seen collaborating with in any case. The reality is that the foreign policies of that Administration have been widely discredited. The commitment to having a firm position on rendition was a key component of the programme for Government. On an individual basis, I was pleased to have negotiated this issue into that document. Yes, it took some time to put that into practice but the reality is that we can be sure that any attempt to do so would have been treated with disdain by the previous Administration. The right opportunity was taken at the right time to coalesce the interests of the Government in respect of its attitude to rendition and the existence of detention facilities such as that at Guantanamo Bay with those of the changed regime in the United States. That was the correct approach and we will reap rewards for it in the future.

I wish to respond to Senator Hannigan's points regarding overseas development aid. I heard the Minister speak on this issue in the other House earlier today. Yes, it is unfortunate that a decision of this nature has been made. However, most of the money being saved through the cutbacks is money that would have been saved in any case. As I calculate it, the effective cut is in the region of €30 million to €35 million. Although this is unfortunate, I am convinced, in terms of our per capita contribution and our commitment to reach our target by 2012, this target remains as steadfast a Government policy as it has been. It is certainly the case that we remain on track to advance our target of 0.7% of GDP well ahead of the agreed European Union target of 2015. As and when we achieve that, we can take pride as a nation.