Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 6

Written Answers - Debt and Development Coalition.

Gay Mitchell

Question:

24 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance if he has considered the concerns expressed by Debt and Development Coalition Ireland in relation to the IMF; the reason it should not contribute to the enhanced structural adjustment facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27748/98]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

I have been made fully aware of the concerns of the Debt and Development Coalition, and other organisations and individuals who have taken an interest in the alleviation of Third World Debt and the issue of the social impact of adjustment programmes. Their views were taken into account by the Government in the formulation of its response to the requests for funding for the joint IMF/World Bank HIPCs debt initiative. The Deputies will already be familiar with the Government's debt relief package and the principles which will guide the Government's policy on third world debt and structural adjustment, the details of which were announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and me on 16 September last.

Since my appointment as Minister for Finance I have taken a deep interest in the issue of Third World debt and I have through my Department maintained an open policy as regards contacts with all interest groups on the issue. My officials and I have had numerous contacts with the NGOs concerned, and have sought to address their concerns on matters relating to the debt initiative and the ESAF facility of the IMF.

I have sought to give them assurances that Ireland will continue to use the influence available to it to work for the implementation of both ESAF and the debt initiative on the most favourable terms possible for the countries affected. I have also sought to convey to them that the current debt relief mechanisms — the HEPCs and ESAF programmes — represent a major step forward on the issue of dealing with the indebtedness of the poorer countries. The HEPC debt initiative marks the first concerted effort by international governments and financial institutions to deal with this huge and complex problem in a pragmatic and workable fashion. Clearly, the debt initiative as it stands is not the final destination for the international effort. Nothing short of the complete elimination of poverty can be accepted as the ultimate goal of all our development efforts. I am on record as saying the debt initiative will need to be accelerated, widened and deepened. However, I am concerned that for at least ten years Ireland has been to the fore in the advocating debt relief but has not made a single contribution to debt relief. This position is no longer acceptable to me or my Government colleagues. The time has long since passed for this country to move from rhetoric to action by supporting debt relief by actual cash payments.

I am particularly pleased to note that the developing countries within the United Nations sponsored a resolution calling of the developed countries to support the ESAF facility and the debt initiative financially. The resolution on enhancing international co-operation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countries was adopted unanimously on 15 December by the UN General Assembly. The resolution calls for a speedy and determined extension of the HIPC framework — something which has been strongly urged by the Irish Government and by me in my ongoing contacts with the World Bank and the IMF — and also expresses "strong support for the continuation of the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility".

I fully appreciate that neither HIPC nor ESAF are perfect instruments — no administrative system ever was — and I am determined to ensure that the WF and the World Bank will take ownership and social impacts into account in planning, designing and implementing their programmes. Yet I hope that everybody will at last recognise that both tools, as the UN resolution which was endorsed and supported by all developing countries points out, are accepted internationally as valid components of the response of the international community to the needs of the developing countries.