Dan Boyle
Question:85 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Finance the Government's position on debt cancellation. [22086/02]
Vol. 557 No. 3
85 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Finance the Government's position on debt cancellation. [22086/02]
86 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Finance the reason he did not address the issue of debt cancellation in his speech to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank AGM in Washington on 29 September. [22087/02]
87 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Finance the action he intends to take to ensure that the attention of the IMF and the World Bank has been drawn to the Government's policy on debt cancellation. [22088/02]
88 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Finance if he intends to instruct Ireland's representatives to the IMF and the World Bank to promote the Irish policy on debt cancellation. [22089/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 to 88, inclusive, together.
The Government's position on Ireland's debt strategy for developing countries was prepared jointly by Ireland Aid and my Department and was issued in July. We concluded that, in principle, the total cancellation of the debts of the heavily indebted poor countries is a politically acceptable objective and one that we would support. Total cancellation would have to be funded largely through additional donor contributions. To mobilise the necessary funds for total debt cancellation a greater number of donors, particularly the larger economies, would have to increase their overseas development aid more rapidly and take concrete steps to meeting the UN target of 0.7% of GNP on ODA.