Dr. Mary Robinson:

I begin with an apology. I have breached protocol twice. I arrived half an hour early - the Captain of the Guard and everybody else was not expecting me to arrive so soon - and then sat down to deliver my speech. However, there was no insult intended. I realised immediately that I should have stood when Senators started to ask their questions. I think it is because I have never sat in this chair before.

I may disappoint those who asked some very good questions because as an iar-Uachtarán, a former President, I do not intend to go into the specific details of Irish policy. I will speak in general terms, but to make my points I may sometimes come near to the wire, as I have always tried to do. I will try to answer the questions posed, but if they have been too specific, I ask the Members to bear with me because it is an honourable tradition. There are two former Presidents and we will both continue in the tradition of former Presidents. I remember learning so much from President Hillery and how he conducted himself as an iar-Uachtarán and I will try to do the same.

I will begin by responding to Senator Darragh O'Brien. His tributes moved me very much, not just the nice things said but also the warmth of the voice will stay with me. He evoked a memory. About five years ago I gave a talk in the United States, in Boise, Idaho which is almost in the middle of that large country. There was a relatively good audience and, understandably, there was an Irish contingent. I spoke about ethical globalisation or human rights. At the end of the session a relatively young woman - perhaps in her early 30s - came forward and she had an air of purpose. She put out her hand as I got down from the rostrum and said, "I want to shake your hand. You got my first vote. I was 19 at the time and when I told my father, he nearly killed me." I will tie in that moment with the question which I can only answer in the following way. I was asked what would I regard as my greatest achievements. Certainly, the greatest honour was being elected President of Ireland, Uachtarán na hÉireann. As my successor Mary McAleese said about her time as President, every day is special, every day is precious and it is an incredible honour. I do not think anything else compares with it.

On Ireland's standing in the developing world, we can reflect on the fact - I hear it all the time - that it has good standing, particularly in African countries but also in Bangladesh and parts of Latin America. I made many state and some working visits when I was President and had the privilege of meeting the Irish community. One facet of the Irish community that touched me deeply and still does is the priests and nuns who have spent periods of 27, 30, 40 or 42 years in various countries. I remember the time when I was on a State visit to Brazil, having completed similar visits to Argentina and Chile. A reception was held in Rio de Janeiro which focused, in particular, on the Irish who had served in Brazil in many ways but particularly the religious and aid workers. When I asked a priest where he had come from, he said I would not know it; it had taken him 43 hours by bus to get to Rio de Janeiro. He was working in a very remote part of Brazil.

The reception provided generous hospitality with smoked salmon and all kinds of nice things being served, but I noticed a group of priests and nuns who were eating only rice. I invited them to help themselves to the different foods on offer, but they explained that their stomachs would not be able to deal with them. They were living in poor communities and could no longer each rich food. On many occasions ambassadors presenting their credentials told me they had been educated by the Christian Brothers or the Loreto nuns, even though they themselves were Muslim. This has been a wonderful contribution to education and the Irish aid agencies and Irish Aid have built on this tradition.

There is no doubt in my mind that we have a reputation because we have never offered tied aid or had any self-interest in our aid programme. There are compelling reasons we should continue this tradition as strongly as possible. There is, first, a moral imperative and a huge need for this, a point to which I will return briefly. Second, we are forming relations with parts of the world that are becoming more empowered.

To say the least, communications in our world have become much more global and the participation of countries has become more significant. In many cases, what is happening in developing countries, including in African countries, is very positive. They are beginning not only to develop their political systems but also their economies. I saw a statistic at a recent conference on African agriculture and wealth creation held in Tunisia by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation - the population of Africa will double by 2050. It is a continent with huge potential and I will deal with the question about population in that context.

It is true that the population of the world is increasing very rapidly. The birth of the seven billionth children was acknowledged by the Secretary General of the United Nations at the end of October. The six billionth child is now 12 years old, which means one billion children were born in that short space of time. I understand it will be 16 years before the eight billionth child is born. Therefore, the rate is slowing down slightly, but there is still a very rapid increase.

The only health hat I wear is that of the chairperson of a global leaders council on reproductive health. We are trying to make the case in the UN system and globally that access to family planning and reproductive health services is absolutely essential. It is a right which must be supported strongly by governments. There has been some retrenchment in funding in some countries, in particular, as we know very well. There is, however, a very clear way by which it is possible to have a welcome reduction in population size in places where there are strains on population, that is, by way of the education of girls and women and providing access to reasonable health care services. In fact, access to health care services is as important as access to education. If maternal and child mortality rates were to be reduced, the number of children each woman would have would be reduced. There are many statistics to prove this fact and it is a very important one.

A reference was made to the rights of children under the Constitution and the universal periodic review. I will not be too specific in my response. The universal periodic review marks a real step forward. Under the Human Rights Council, all governments submit to the review and there is strength in numbers in this regard. It is important that Ireland take seriously the results of the review in order that we will reinforce the responsibility to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights.

I wish to answer the questions about the Seanad and its reform but not in specific terms because it is a matter for Members. However, a number of the issues raised by Senators are ones on which the Seanad could play a more active role. I note the hearings to take place this afternoon on issues affecting the elderly and next week with experts. There is plenty of expertise in Ireland in the consortium dealing with issues related to ageing, and there are others with very good ideas. I very much agree with the suggestion that young people's groups should be included. A start has been made on ensuring the human rights of the elderly, and it might be very useful to give a real opportunity to representatives of young people and people with disabilities. There is a variety of such groups and it should not always be related to requests for more funding and resources. There is a need for a thoughtful contribution which the Seanad can make.

It has been noted that the 16 day campaign to combat violence against women has just commenced. I am glad that Ireland has a good reputation and a role to play in this regard. I am glad to support the consortium combatting violence against women which is now in its seventh year. The consortium will meet tomorrow to discuss the latest developments. At that meeting the Tánaiste will launch the plan of action of Ireland under Security Council Resolution 1325. I am aware of no other country with this type of consortium, which includes the Government, through Irish Aid; the Defence Forces; the Garda, which has participated though involvement in overseas missions; and all of the NGOs which deal in humanitarian and development issues. It is a very good practice and I have praised it abroad.

There was a reference to representatives of The Elders visiting Gaza; in fact, that has already happened. Anybody who is interested in The Elders should visit its website, theelders.org. I agree with Senators' points regarding the problems in Bahrain, as highlighted by The Elders, and other countries in that region. The head of the independent commission which investigated abuses in Bahrain, Cherif Bassiouni, an eminent lawyer, produced his report yesterday. The King of Bahrain was obliged to sit and listen as Mr. Bassiouni outlined his hard-hitting conclusions.

In regard to my personal influences, reference was made to the Sacred Heart nuns. They were certainly an influence during my six years as a boarder in Mount Anville. We were very much encouraged by them to consider how issues of poverty and development in poor countries might be addressed. I was also fortunate enough to have a reference point within my family. My father had two sisters, both of whom became nuns. One of them worked in India for more than 30 years where she learned several local languages. When she returned to Ireland as an older woman we soon discovered her yoga skills. She startled my children and me when we first saw her swimming in cold water in Mayo or Kerry. We were very disinclined to join her. In school, I read the works of some of those who sought to change the world based on ethical values, including Ghandi, Eleanor Roosevelt - who played a key role in the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - and Martin Luther King. These were the types of influences which helped to shape me and I hope they continue to be widely read.

Women's participation and empowerment is an issue about which I continue to feel strongly. Members may be interested in some of the work we are doing in this regard by way of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice. For example, I recently moderated the COP 16 conference in Cancun in Mexico on gender and climate change. This meeting involved several important contributors - the Mexican Foreign Minister, who was chair of the conference; the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, Christiana Figueres; the European Union Commissioner on climate action, Connie Hedegaarde; together with a Minister from Denmark and one from Ecuador. The delegates indicated their pleasure at having an opportunity to address a conference which specifically linked gender issues and climate change. The gender dimensions are very evident when one sees how it is undermining poor, indigenous farmers.

This brought home to me something I learned in Seanad Éireann. When I was first elected to the House I was one of only six female Senators. We did not have a significant impact on the types of issues which were of particular relevance to women such as reform of the adoption law, although we did some work on that, maternity law and so on. It was only when our number subsequently grew to 13 that we achieved the critical mass necessary to make a difference and influence the agenda. I have realised that we will not have progress on gender and climate change unless we create a platform of female leaders. That is what we have done; we have created a troika plus of women leaders on gender and climate change.

I will travel to Durban this weekend for the next conference, which is being hosted by South Africa. On the first day of the conference, which is Monday, three women will handle the hand-over from Mexico to South Africa, namely, the Mexican Foreign Minister and her South African counterpart, in the presence of the executive secretary of the UNFCCC process. All three women have committed to highlighting gender and women's leadership in the context of climate. There will be other meetings in South Africa of a similar nature. It is something to reflect on for those who see the need, as I do, to improve participation of women in Ireland. Critical mass is important and probably, since we are not looking as good as we should be internationally, special steps, even if they are temporary, to improve the situation. As I said, I have to speak in very general terms.

I was asked to comment on my impressions on returning to Somalia and the Horn of Africa. I am haunted by the things I saw. My first impression was that everything was worse than when I was there as President of Ireland in 1992. On that occasion, we went in October and the same group was involved, comprising Concern, Trócaire and Oxfam. At the time of our first visit in October 1992 the rainy season was almost at an end and there were significant difficulties in getting food to the feeding stations, past Dhahar and Mogadishu, because of the conflict between warlords. During our visit in July of this year a state of famine was declared by the United Nations. The criteria for that are very strict and we were told at the time that some 28,000 children had died of hunger. The toll has increased since then.

The situation overall has improved slightly because of the huge support from this country and elsewhere, but it is still quite severe. In 1992, I spoke to the two warlords who were primarily responsible for problems in the region. Nick even accused me of poking them in the stomach, which I did not do, but I did speak rather severely to them about letting the food through to the feeding stations. One could have that type of discussion, even in difficult circumstances, but there is no way one could talk to al-Shabaab. It is a vicious group, linked to al-Qaeda, which inflicts horrible wrongs on its own people.

One of the most concerning aspects from my point of view was the realisation that in 1992 we did not even mention climate. We knew that Ethiopia, parts of Kenya and the Horn of Africa generally suffered from time to time from drought and earlier periods of food shortage or famine, but that was all. The latest statistics on the Horn of Africa are very compelling, with the region experiencing its eight hottest years ever in succession. We will not have to wait 19 years for the next severe drought. Already some 13 million people in the wider Horn of Africa are suffering from problems of food shortage. On the issue of development aid, Ireland has a very good reputation in regard to hunger and food security, thanks to Irish Aid and to people like Tom Arnold who are recognised internationally as experts on the issue. We have developed important links in this regard and Ireland is regarded as a leader on hunger and food security. Those needs will be there in the future as the undermining of climate places increasing numbers of people at risk of starvation or severe malnutrition.

One of the most difficult experiences of our recent visit to Somalia was visiting the health clinic in Dilla - there is a photograph there of my previous visit, 19 years before, which I found affecting - where we saw severely malnourished children being weighed and their mothers given packets of Plumpy'nut. They were told that if the children took two portions a day over a period of two weeks, they would stabilise and be able to gain weight. However, I was told that in many cases, when the mothers return home, their other children, who are desperately hungry, would take some of the Plumpy'nut rations. Even the mothers, desperate to stay alive, sometimes take them. That is the hardest part. If children become stunted because of severe malnutrition in the first two years, they will never regain their full physical and mental capability. This goes to the core of human rights - how can we do this to children?

I am very appreciative that even at a time of severe economic recession and family suffering in this country, the generosity of the Irish people to the Horn of Africa, and specifically to Somalia, is something of which we can be proud and on which we can build.

I was asked to reflect briefly on how gay people were treated internationally. It is true that the United Nations has very late in the day been willing to appreciate work done elsewhere on a declaration in this regard. However, it is also true that many countries, particularly those on the African continent - specifically, Uganda and Iran - have been savage in the way they have addressed the issue of gay people. I was very troubled by the idea of threatening to cut off aid to countries which had bad policies in this area. That would not be helpful because it would immediately evoke a kind of post-colonial relationship and have a counter-impact.