John Connor
Question:134 Mr. Connor asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the situation in Cambodia, he will make this country priority country number five in our worldwide bilateral aid programme.
Written Answers. - Bilateral Aid Programme.
The increased resources available to Ireland's Aid Programme under the agreed Programme for Government will make it possible to extend our bilateral aid assistance to other developing countries. Consideration is at present being given to identifying suitable partner countries and assessing the most effective way of providing bilateral assistance. These issues will require serious study as the establishment of new programmes in additional countries will represent a long term commitment to providing bilateral development assistance to these countries in the future.
Our current focus is on seeking partners in the least developed countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Many countries in this region are among the poorest both in terms ofper capita income and resources for development. Field visits will be made in the near future to the region to assess the possibilities for development assistance programmes.
It is true that many countries in Asia, such as Cambodia, are among the least developed and we will be considering these countries' needs as our Programme expands. The Bilateral Aid Programme is currently funding a project managed by ESB International to improve the power supply system in Cambodia. It has also provided assistance to programmes managed by Irish NGO's as well as a grant of £200,000 towards relief for Cambodian refugees.