Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this important subject and congratulate the Minister of State on the work he has done since his appointment. Even in difficult times, we have not cut our budget, which shows where our priorities lie. When Ireland was suffering, we liked receiving external help. Under budget 2015, there has been no reduction in the overall level of ODA. More than €600 million was allocated for ODA and we have been recognised for the successful stabilisation of our development budget in the past three years after severe cuts in the face of serious economic difficulties. Maintaining the budget by providing €601 million to Ireland's aid programme will be seen as a significant contribution. We would love to do more. In light of the last budget, there has been some improvement in our country, but we have never been found lacking when it comes to ODA. The European Commission's January Eurobarometer report found that support for increasing aid had grown in Ireland by 12% since 2013, which is to be commended and is encouraging.

As has been mentioned, countries in Africa are suffering significantly from drought and climate change. I am sure that the Minister of State is well aware of the report by Maynooth University's department of geography, entitled Feeling the Heat: How Climate Change is Driving Extreme Weather in the Developing World. I commend the Government. People have been discussing a climate change Bill for a long time, but it is only now coming to fruition. The Oireachtas committee of which I am a member has made a good recommendation on the report. I do not know whether the Minister of State will also make a submission, but people in the developing world are struggling to survive in the face of drought and storms. Families can no longer plan for the hungry season because it is changing. Many reports, particularly the one by Maynooth, have called this a silent emergency. It is up to us as legislators to break the silence. It is not a problem that we can solve on our own, but we must do our bit and ensure that the emergency can be tackled globally. By making the emergency a loud one, we can tackle the injustice of climate change together.

We are always referring to sustainable development and planning. As mentioned in the Oireachtas environment committee's report, sustainable development is an issue for transport, agriculture and so on. Our country has been discussing clean energy. Loud voices have been raised against it. I noted a report that the reporter, Mr. Jody Corcoran, wrote in January. He visited Mount Lucas in County Offaly to evaluate its wind turbines, which were 150 m tall. He stated that he could not hear a sound from the wind farm and that there was more noise from the cars on the motorway. I am raising this point in the context of climate change and sustainable energy. He claimed that wind turbines were "rather like a team of elegant ladies dancing at dusk".

We should think of people in Third World countries. My sister has just returned from providing voluntary services overseas. She is a secondary school teacher who volunteered overseas for a year. With Mr. Dermot Divilly, my brother set up Support Africa, an Irish-registered foundation, in 2006. It is working overseas. The Minister of State met my brother in Addis Ababa. I commend my sister and brother. Here I am as a legislator who I hope can do her bit from afar to support people in all developing countries. In Support Africa's case, 100% of the money it raises goes straight to the country. No money is taken out for administration. Every organisation must have administration funds and the Minister of State is always evaluating what percentage of every organisation's funds is spent on administration and what percentage goes to the country in question. This is an important subject.