Vol. 410 No. 2
10 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give a commitment to increase the budgetary allocation for overseas development assistance now that preparations are being made for the 1992 Estimates, particularly in view of the many millions of people who are threatened with starvation in Africa.
20 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider introducing legislation which would commit the State to achieving the United Nations target level for ODA within a specified number of years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
27 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the Government's overseas development aid output for the first six months of 1991; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
34 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the Government intend to comply with the United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in October 1970, which urges member states to contribute 0.7 per cent of GNP to overseas development aid; and if the Government have given any explanation to the United Nations for their failure to comply with this resolution.
35 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he is prepared to agree an all-party approach to increases in overseas aid and development funds so that the United Nations target to which we are committed can have some prospect of being achieved in the foreseeable future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
50 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the proposed allocation of £43.7 million for overseas development aid in 1991 represents only 0.18 per cent of GNP; if he has any plans to restore the amount to a percentage figure last achieved in 1986 of 0.25 of GNP; if he will outline the action he proposes to take to achieve this target; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
51 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the allocation for overseas development assistance, as set out in the Estimates for 1991, represents 0.18 per cent of GNP; if, having regard to the increasing difficulties being experienced by countries in the Third World, he will outline when it is proposed to bring Ireland's contribution into line with the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GNP; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 10, 20, 27, 34, 35, 50 and 51 together.
The provision for Official Development Assistance, ODA, in the 1991 budget was £43.7 million or 0.18 per cent of GNP, an increase of over £9 million over 1990.
Since the adoption of the budget, further measures have been undertaken which will increase the total by over £2 million more. These are the additions to bilateral and multilateral contributions in respect of European Community programmes for relief of the emergency situations in Africa and in Bangladesh and the humanitarian needs of the Kurdish population of Iraq. Total ODA for 1991 is now expected to rise to close to £46 million. This represents 0.19 per cent of GNP and over one third more in cash terms than the 1990 level of ODA.
The increase in the level of funding is a clear indication of the Government's strong commitment to developing countries. Total expenditure for the first half of 1991 is estimated at £23.4 million. This has been spent mainly on projects in our priority and partner countries, on volunteers sponsored by the Agency for Personal Service Overseas, on disaster relief grants to Irish and international relief agencies and on contributions to the European Community, the World Bank and other international agencies involved in development and relief work.
As has been explained repeatedly in this House and elsewhere, the Government remain committed to achieving the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for Official Development Assistance and will make progress towards it as economic and financial circumstances permit. However, it is not realistic given our current situation to expect that it can be reached quickly. I welcome the views and advice of all parties in this House on development assistance matters but would have to note that, to date, proposals I have received for progressing towards the target of 0.7 per cent or intermediate targets have been made without regard to the difficult budgetary and economic situation the Government face.
There is no formal reporting structure at the United Nations on aid provisions, but we have reported in detail to the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD and have given full explanations of our allocations each year.
Is the Minister aware that as we sit in this Chamber today 20 million people in Africa alone are facing the threat of starvation? Is the Minister seriously telling this House that the 0.18 per cent provision for Overseas Development Assistance is a satisfactory response to the horrific statistics on the number of people who will die? Is the Minister aware that the 0.18 per cent level to which he referred is the same as the percentage given in aid by this country ten years ago? Will he now give a commitment — I know he will get support for this from all parties in the House — to bring in a supplementary budget this year and increase the budget next year? Will he say when the Government hope to reach the target of 0.7 per cent?
The Deputy should pay particular attention to the original reply given by me to her question and the questions asked by other Members which clearly shows that there has been an increase of over £9 million in 1991 over 1990. That is a considerable increase by any standards. Will the Deputy also please take into account the very long statement made by me on the subject the last time I answered questions in which I explained in very great detail the policy and attitude of the Government in regard to this issue.
A brief question, please, Deputy Owen.
Does the Minister not agree that some of the increase about which he speaks arose as a result of the Gulf War and crises which occurred in other areas and that he is hiding the real level of assistance given by the Government? The Government have not made any serious commitment towards reaching the UN target of 0.7 per cent.
I am very glad Deputy Owen has given me this opportunity of clarifying some of the confusion which seems to have arisen about the funding for countries most affected by the Gulf crisis. I assure the House that this is properly classified as development assistance. About half the funds are being provided via the EC and the World Bank to help Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, the three frontline states most affected by the crisis. The balance is being provided bilaterally and all of our bilateral aid for the frontline states, £3 million, is being provided for Egypt, the poorest in per capita terms of the three frontier states. The balance of £500,000 is available for other developing countries and of this £250,000 is being provided for food aid for Sudan, the worst affected of our priority areas. The remainder has been allocated to other developing countries, in particular, our other priority countries, Zambia, Tanzania and Lesotho. All three frontline states are classified as developing countries and it would be very odd if we were to exclude from our ODA table our aid to these countries while our fellow members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee include theirs.
More of the same.
