As we have a quorum, I will call the meeting to order. The first item on the agenda is the election of a chairperson. Can I have nominations for the chair?
Election of Chairman.
Clerk to the Committee
I propose Senator Michael Kitt.
I second the proposal.
Clerk to the Committee
As there are no other nominations, I call on Senator Kitt to take the Chair.
Senator M. Kitt took the Chair.
I thank members for electing me to the chair. I am honoured to be elected unanimously by the committee and, given our combined skills, I am confident we will work to have a highly effective sub-committee. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the members of the outgoing Sub-Committee on Development Co-operation which was chaired by former Senator Lanigan, who brought his own experience and knowledge to the workings of the committee. I hope this sub-committee will be equally effective. I anticipate that we will refer to and build on the previous committee's valuable work, which focused on issues relating to development co-operation, trade and debt.
Under the sub-committee's terms of reference, our work will focus on three areas, including Ireland's relations with developing countries in the field of development co-operation, trade and debt, the Government's official development assistance programme and the role of the United Nations in the field of development co-operation. I believe there is potential for overlap between the work of this sub-committee, the joint committee and the Sub-Committee on Human Rights. I intend to have informal discussions with the chairmen of both committees in order to avoid such difficulties and bring forward a draft work programme for our next meeting. I advise members to submit topics for inclusion in the work programme. Does any member wish to raise other issues?
I congratulate the Chairman and wish him well. I agree that the former Senator Lanigan brought particular knowledge of the Middle East to the previous committee, which did a lot of good work. The advantage of the sub-committee was that the main committee could not always meet all the groups who wanted to be heard. As we were able to meet people, it meant there was not a big logjam. I wish the Chairman well and I am pleased at his announcement that the sub-committee will deal with issues of aid, trade and debt. These issues interact with each other and it will be valuable to be able to deal with them.
On behalf of Fine Gael, I am pleased Senator Kitt has been elected to this office. Given his interest in this area in the past, I have no doubt he will do a great job. I believe this committee can assist very effectively in Ireland's increasing efforts in the developing world.
On my own behalf and on behalf of my party, I congratulate the Chairman on his election to this important post. One of the issues with which the committee could deal is monitoring and encouraging the Department to implement the numerous recommendations for the aid programme as it expands to meet the UN target in 2007. The committee, which I chaired, sat for a year and was contributed to by independent experts and peer groups. It would be a valuable challenge if the committee were to do an audit of how the Department is implementing the recommendations dealing with the expansion of the programme.
A Chathaoirligh, deirim, ar mo shon féin agus ar son Fhianna Fáil, go bhfuil áthas orm a bheith ag obair leat. Tá mé cinnte go ndéanfaidh tú sár-obair.
I congratulate Senator Kitt on his election as Chairman. I concur with previous speakers that this committee does very important work. Members, including Deputy Michael Higgins, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe and Deputy O'Donnell, all former Ministers of State, have a wide range of experience in dealing with overseas aid and development. I believe we have a very important role to play and I wish the Chairman well and assure him of my full support.
In regard to the frequency of our meetings, I suggest that we meet at least every four weeks. Obviously, we may need to meet more frequently, but perhaps we could meet on weeks the joint committee is not scheduled to meet. Do members wish to raise any other issues?
The working group of committee chairpersons will allocate a particular time slot to this sub-committee. I will advise members when that is arranged, including the date of our next meeting.
I think this is a good time.
That is a good proposal. We will check to see if we can hold meetings at this time.
The sub-committee adjourned at 12.10 p.m. sine die.