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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 11 Dec 1997

Vol. 485 No. 1

Written Answers. - Third World Debt.

Charles Flanagan

Question:

31 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the nationwide campaign designed to increase awareness of crippling Third World debt and to promote action in this regard by developed countries to coincide with the new millennium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19546/97]

The burden of debt imposes a serious constraint on the least developed countries, including the African priority countries for Irish aid. I am personally aware of the campaign referred to by the Deputy, which is aimed at increasing public awareness of the debt burden faced by the developing world, and in particular calling for serious action to be taken on the matter by the year 2000.

Ireland has consistently used the relevant international fora to stress the need to seriously address the debt problem of the poorest countries and to indicate our openness to innovative solutions. Successive Ministers for Finance, in their capacity as Ireland's representative on the Board of Governors of the World Bank and the IMF, have highlighted the difficult situation of heavily indebted developing countries and have pressed the case for significant alleviation of their debt burden.

There has been considerable progress on this problem over the past year. The HIPC Initiative, the debt initiative for highly indebted poor countries which was agreed at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in October 1996, represents a significant step forward in the international community's response to the debt problem of the poorest countries. This initiative is committed to co-ordinating relief from all creditors — bilateral, commercial and multilateral — to bring a highly indebted country's debt down to a sustainable level. It is directed at highly indebted poor countries which have demonstrated, through a track record of good economic management, that they have the capacity to use debt relief to resume the process of economic growth and development.

Ireland has been strongly supportive of the HIPC Initiative and we have urged both its early implementation and its flexible application to the maximum number of heavily indebted poor countries on the most favourable terms possible. We welcome the progress which has been made on the implementation of the HIPC Initiative. In particular, we welcome the decisions which have been taken on its application to Uganda, the first country to qualify for relief under the initiative, and the more recent approval of assistance for Bolivia and Burkina Faso. Consideration of the eligibility of a number of other countries for similar relief is well under way. The HIPC Initiative can produce significant debt relief for highly indebted poor countries and it must be given an opportunity to work.
Reaction towards the HIPC Initiative from the developing countries has been very positive. We have reason to believe that the initiative is being applied with flexibility and concern for the interests of the beneficiaries.
Ireland has consistently called for the consideration of all options for relieving the debt burden of the developing countries. The Deputy will appreciate that Ireland, as a non-creditor country, is not directly party to the debt problem and is not in a position itself to give a lead with regard to debt cancellation. However, we will continue to use our influence to press for a just and comprehensive long-term solution to the debt problem in the developing world.
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