We must be mindful that this small nation is playing a very significant part in helping achieve the millennium development goal of halving world poverty by 2015. The international aid community has made significant progress in this regard. I know my colleague, Senator Michael Mullins, has alluded to the fact more than 40 million additional children are going to school today than in the year 2000. Health programmes and vaccinations mean that 12,000 fewer people are dying every day. Since 1990, 1.6 billion people have gained access to clean drinking water. Cases of malaria are also down by more than 50% in 11 African countries. It is becoming clear poverty is more persistent and concentrated in particular regions and localities. Sub Saharan Africa continues to bear the greatest poverty burden and it is estimated that by 2030, half of the world's poor will be found there. This statistic is further exacerbated by the expected population increases in some of these countries. For example, it is expected that Ethiopia's population alone will double by 2030. This is an ongoing and developing issue which needs a targeted and measured solution. Admittedly, Ireland faces a significant challenge when it comes to retaining the standards the international community has come to expect from us in development aid.