I thank the Chairman for the invitation to address this committee, which is closer to my heart than most others having served on it for quite a considerable period of time. I know the members and we soldiered together through various referenda campaigns and have had many committee and sub-committee discussions. It is one of the finest committees we have in the House and I am very pleased to be here today.
I am particularly anxious to get the views of committee members on the White Paper on Irish Aid because it has great relevance to the role of the European Union in Ireland, and the Government's bilateral and multilateral relations which are extremely important. The review of the Government's aid programme, which operates within the overall framework of the European Union and which channels a substantial amount of money through the European Union, needs to involve the committee and hear the views and input from members and not only today at this formal meeting. I am very anxious that we keep in contact and that the expertise, opinions and advice of committee members be available over a sustained period of time as we finalise and implement the review and with regard to the role of the European Union in particular. I look forward very much to today's discussion and to our ongoing engagement.
The 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid, the first of its kind in Ireland, set out very clearly the basis for Ireland's aid programme, which comprises all the basic essentials. These are as follows: reducing poverty; helping children survive their first years and go to school; enabling people to have enough food to eat; and enabling people to take control of their own lives. The White Paper is a far-reaching and comprehensive policy, but the world is changing and, with it, the context for international development. As we are all too aware, the context has changed in Ireland in recent years. Therefore, a review of the aid programme was one of the commitments in the programme for Government. This provides an opportunity for us to take stock of the achievements and challenges to date, to consider the constantly changing context and to chart out the future priorities of our aid programme.
As part of the consultation, we have held four national level meetings and a number of focus group discussions with key stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisations, NGOs, the private sector and diaspora communities living in Ireland. We have undertaken consultations with other Departments, including through the interdepartmental committee on development, which I chair. We have also consulted widely with our partners in Africa, including through a regional consultation meeting held in Malawi in March. Consultation with the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs is important. Yesterday, I appeared before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade to hear its views and to get its input. Later this year, I will publish a review report setting out the future priorities for Irish Aid as it continues to deliver real and lasting results for the world's poor.
Since the publication of the White Paper, Ireland's aid programme has become more focused and effective in tackling poverty and vulnerability in some of the poorest countries in the world. Approximately 100 key decisions were outlined in the White Paper and the consultation paper shows that, in the majority of cases, we have followed through on these effectively. Irish Aid is recognised as a champion in making aid more effective, empowering partner governments to lead on their own development and encouraging donors and civil society organisations to work together better and reduce duplication. Ireland has taken a leadership role in the fight against global hunger, improved ways of preventing and responding to humanitarian emergencies and developed strong oversight mechanisms and systems of accountability. We have fulfilled commitments by placing a stronger focus on Africa, implementing the recommendations of the hunger task force, which sets out how we can tackle hunger most effectively, and setting up of the rapid response register to respond quickly to humanitarian emergencies. During recent visits to Ethiopia and Malawi, I saw the impact of our aid programme. In Ethiopia, agricultural production of grain more than doubled between 2004 and 2009. In Malawi, the number of households with insufficient food has reduced from one in four in 2006 to one in ten today.
There are some areas in the White Paper where progress was less than expected, such as in the promise to establish a tenth programme country or an Irish development bank. Furthermore, the White Paper was developed at a time of rising levels of economic growth and set out a broad and ambitious agenda. The reductions in public expenditure resulting from the difficult economic situation of recent years have resulted in a decline of 30% in Ireland's aid budget between 2008 and 2011. It is imperative that we, through this review, focus on priority areas where we can make a real difference and achieve full value for money for every cent that we spend, with clear accountability to the Irish public and our partners. This point has come out strongly in the consultations undertaken to date.
It is also imperative that we adapt effectively to the changing context globally and in our partner countries. To do so, we need to understand the changing nature of poverty, with emerging challenges such as rising food and energy prices, climate change and the global economic crisis. At the same time, we see emerging opportunities such as high levels of economic growth in Africa, more opportunities for trade and a stronger role for emerging economies in world affairs. The Africa strategy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recognises this new context and advances a new approach to Africa, which the White Paper review will help to build upon, with aid, trade, political and other partnerships being developed.
In the review, we have identified a number of issues that we will need to consider, such as hunger, climate change and alleviating poverty in particularly fragile states, as well as the need to respond to basic needs and the centrality of good governance and human rights, including gender equality. The review comes at a very useful point. The High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness was held last year in Busan and the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development will be held in June. The millennium development goals, MDGs, will be reviewed next year in preparation for the development of a platform for global poverty reduction post the 2015 MDG deadline.
The review of the White Paper and the Irish Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2013 present us with an opportunity to draw from these processes and, critically, to bring the various strands together, breaking down any artificial barrier that exists between sustainable development, hunger, climate change, human rights, gender and other priority issues. We also need to consider who we are working with and how. By providing substantial support to our partner countries, civil society organisations and multilateral organisations such as the EU and UN, we are able to react to different contexts in varied and appropriate ways.
Last year, the EU, through member states and the Commission, contributed more than €53 billion in official development assistance, making us by far the largest community of donors in the world. This is part of the reason the joint committee is so important, as member states put a large amount of resources into humanitarian and development aid. For every euro spent on aid worldwide, more than 50 cent comes from the EU. This is a large commitment. Ireland is a strong supporter of multilateral efforts and recognises that global challenges require global solutions. In 2010, we contributed €123.6 million to EU institutions for official development assistance. The 2005 European Consensus on Development provided the backdrop to the White Paper on Irish Aid. This reflected the EU's willingness to make a decisive contribution to the eradication of poverty and to build a more peaceful and equitable world.
In the past year, the European Commission has initiated a discussion on the future of EU development policy, which is expected to lead to the adoption of Council conclusions at the May 2012 Foreign Affairs Council meeting on increasing the impact of the EU Agenda for Change development policy. The Tánaiste will attend this committee in respect of matters that will be discussed at the Council prior to that meeting.
Agenda for Change provides the backdrop for the review of our aid programme. Under the 2014 to 2020 multi-annual financial framework that is being negotiated, the Commission proposes a 9% increase in funding for external relations instruments. This will result in major increases for the development co-operation funding instruments. For example, €34.3 billion will be allocated to the European Development Fund, EDF, €23.3 billion will be allocated to the development co-operation instrument and €18.2 billion will be allocated to the European neighbourhood instrument. Not all of these are directed at the poorest of the poor, but I wished to outline a broad scope of where development and neighbourhood policy money goes. This proposed level of investment is ambitious and deserves to be supported. Agenda for Change will ensure that this money is well targeted and made even more effective in delivering real results.
In particular, we welcome the commitment to maintaining the focus on eradicating poverty, the increased focus on the promotion of human rights, democracy and good governance and the inclusion of food and nutrition security, for which Ireland has been active in garnering support. We have also been supportive of the sharpened sectoral and geographical focus for EU aid, which should be concentrated in those areas where the EU has a comparative advantage and that are most in need. EU aid will also differentiate among partner countries and regions to ensure that aid resources are allocated according to needs and capacities. The focus on Africa, in particular sub-Saharan Africa, which will be home to half of the world's poor by 2030, is welcome.
2013 will be the first time that Ireland holds the Presidency under the post-Lisbon treaty institutional arrangements. From a development perspective, we will seek to build on the strong thematic focus within our programme on hunger and nutrition and linkages to issues such as climate change. We will also seek to make progress in concluding the development aspects of the multi-annual financial framework negotiations and furthering the EU common position for the MDG review summit in September 2013. The Presidency also provides an opportunity to highlight and further Ireland's development and humanitarian priorities. The programme for Government sets out the Government's desire to position Shannon Airport as an international hub for the storage and distribution of emergency humanitarian supplies. We are in the process of carrying out an independent feasibility study to assess the potential for Shannon to develop this hub role within the existing global humanitarian network, as well as the level of demand from various national and international humanitarian actors. I am particularly interested in the potential use of Shannon by EU actors given that the Lisbon treaty introduces for the first time a specific legal basis for EU humanitarian aid. We will be examining the business case for taking this initiative forward. If we do proceed, I will be keen to ensure that it offers value for money and a positive impact on the existing international humanitarian system.
Two development-focused high level events will be held in Dublin during our EU Presidency, namely, an informal meeting of EU development Ministers, which will take place in January 2013 and an international meeting on hunger, nutrition, climate change and development, which will possibly be held in April. These will be further opportunities to highlight thematic priorities areas for Ireland's Presidency.
The review of the White Paper will take these processes and developments into account as we set out our priorities for the coming period. The ideas, in terms of Irish policy, emerging from this review will help to inform our approach to our EU Presidency. We have been participating centrally in examining the future direction of the EU in the fight against poverty and hunger and at how we engage with the EU and its institutions accordingly. Our aim is to ensure that the EU, the Commission and its member states become more focused and effective.
I thank the Chairman and Members for the work of this committee and for its engagement on the review. I look forward to our discussion today and to our ongoing engagement. Obviously, I would welcome a submission from the committee and from any member wishing to make an individual submission .
