Written Answers. - Overseas Development Aid.
Michael Ring
Question:
299
Mr. Ring
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the Government policy in relation to fair trade, with particular regard to the Third World; and the efforts the Government has made to help people in the Third World in relation to fair trade.
[1434/03]
Michael Ring
Question:
300
Mr. Ring
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the Government policy in relation to fair trade for the Third World; the Government's accomplishments in this regard; the funding which has provided for the Third World projects by the Government; and the budget which has been in place for Third World projects for the past five years.
[1436/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 300 together.
Ireland has participated actively in negotiations for a new World Trade Organisation global trade round. These negotiations commenced at Doha in 2001 and are expected to conclude in 2005. The new trade round, known as the Doha Development Agenda, is the first such round to accept that development must be at the heart of the international trade policy agenda. The integration of developing countries into the world trading system and the global economy is a central theme of this agenda. The agenda spans market access, trade-related capacity-building, least developed countries and special and differential treatment. It moves the WTO into a new era. The WTO will be able to play a fuller role in the pursuit of economic growth, employment and poverty reduction, in global governance, and in the promotion of sustainable development, while maintaining its key function of improving the conditions for worldwide trade and investment.
A major obligation on all developed countries arising out of the Doha Development Agenda is to help strengthen the trade capacity of developing countries. In this regard, since 2002, Ireland has been contributing from a fund of €1.5 million to relevant multilateral institutions involved in trade-related capacity-building and technical assistance. The single largest Ireland Aid programme in the area of trade capacity building is support for the establishment and operation of the WTO Law Advisory Centre. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has contributed $1 million to the centre's endowment fund and Ireland Aid is contributing $250,000 annually for five years to help fund the centre's running costs. This centre will assist developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, to take advantage of their legal rights under the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism.
In addition, Ireland Aid has contributed to the special trust fund subscribed to by international donors for trade capacity-building, set up by the WTO in 2002, to advance the Doha Development Agenda. Ireland is participating in discussions at the OECD Development Assistance Committee on trade-related capacity building and is seeking to base its intervention in this area with developing countries on the OECD guidelines for trade capacity building.
Ireland has also been involved centrally in the EU's Everything but Arms initiative for the least developed countries. Under this initiative, which was adopted in February 2001, the least developed countries both within and outside the African, Caribbean and Pacific – ACP – group, have gained duty and quota free admission to the European Union market for all but three products from March 2001. In three sensitive commodity sectors full and free access will be achieved more slowly and on a phased basis by 2006 for bananas and by 2009 for rice and sugar. This initiative is a particularly significant breakthrough for the least developed countries, as it offers free market access in areas such as agricultural and textile products in which they are most likely to be competitive and which up to now have been highly protected.
Ireland has ratified the EU-ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which is expected to enter into force shortly between the EU and the 77 ACP states. One of the main pillars of this agreement is economic and trade co-operation. The current all-ACP non-reciprocal tariff prefer ences will be maintained until 31 December 2007. From 2008, a set of reciprocal economic partnership agreements or alternative trade arrangements will normally replace them, following negotiations that commenced in September 2002. These agreements should be compatible with the rules of the WTO. ACP countries are invited to sign as groups or individually, building on their own regional integration schemes. The least developed countries are entitled to maintain non-reciprocal preferences. The agreement also contains a comprehensive programme of action to support the private sector.
The Government's national programme of assistance to poorer countries comprises two elements. The major component is my Department's Vote for international co-operation, €373 million in 2003, while elements of official development assistance – ODA – are also administered by other Departments.
ODA comprises bilateral assistance, which is aid provided directly by Ireland to developing countries, and multilateral assistance, which is aid channelled through international organisations. Support is provided under each heading for a wide range of development programmes and organisations. Total ODA has increased dramatically in recent years, rising from €177 million in 1998 to an expected €450 million in 2003. Figures for the last five years – the amounts for 2002 are provisional – are set out in the following table:
|
Year
|
Total ODA(€m)
|
Of which, allocated under Vote 39(€m)
|
|
1998
|
177.3
|
117.1
|
|
1999
|
230.3
|
147.8
|
|
2000
|
254.9
|
172.7
|
|
2001
|
320.1
|
235.8
|
|
2002
|
420.0
|
340.0
|
