Trevor Sargent
Question:44 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, made on increasing overseas aid spending to achieve the UN target of 0.7% of GNP. [8332/00]
Written Answers. - Overseas Development Aid.
Brendan Howlin
Question:45 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when Ireland will reach the UN target of 0.7% of GNP for overseas development aid; when it will publish the proposed multi-annual plan for ODA; if he will introduce legislation to set a timetable for the achievement of the target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8463/00]
Brendan Howlin
Question:58 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recently published report, The Reality of Aid 2000, which concluded that the Government's target for increasing aid spending is becoming a receding horizon in spite of the availability of unprecedented resources and called on the Government to set aid spending on a specific growth plan in relation to gross national product; his response to the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8464/00]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:82 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, proposed to ensure continued solid and substantial growth in the Irish aid programme in view of a recent address to the Irish Centre for Faith and Culture Conference on Economic Values and the Common Good; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5088/00]
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:163 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when Ireland's contribution to overseas development aid with reach the UN specified levels of GNP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8615/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 44, 45, 58, 82 and 163 together.
As Deputies will be aware from previous answers and comments to the House, official development assistance, ODA, has grown hugely in volume terms in the 1990s from £40 million in 1992 to £178 million in 1999, a fact that has been acknowledged by our donor peers and our partner countries in Africa. In addition, a review of the aid programme carried out in 1999 by the OECD verified the Irish commitment to quality and sustainability.
However, it is acknowledged that our progress to the UN target has fallen short of what was intended when this Government took office. Aid allocations since 1996 were negotiated on forecasts for GNP growth, forecasts which turned out to be significantly less than actual GNP growth. Additionally, the introduction in 1999 of a new system for calculating GNP had the effect of holding back further the rate of growth of ODA in GNP terms.
I am aware of the concern among NGOs and others interested in aid at this development, a concern voiced in the Reality of Aid 2000 report.
In the address on 5 February referred to by Deputy Quinn, the Taoiseach indicated that, in response to the problem in making progress to the UN target, a review was under way of the question of aid allocations and aid management and that the review would lead to proposals being brought to Government for consideration. That is still the case. The review is at a more advanced stage with proposals under final consideration.
The review was initiated in my Department to examine the question of the ODA target and all related issues, such as the need to augment aid management to cope with current and future growth and to maintain the programme's reputation, referred to above, for quality aid.
With regard to the suggestion that aid allocations be put on a legislative footing, I am not convinced this is necessary or practical.
Moreover, I am confident that the outcome of the review of the provision for development aid and of the Government's consideration of the matter will ensure steady and substantial annual progress towards the UN target.