I am delighted to be in a position to join the select committee today to discuss Vote 29. As this is my first meeting with the committee, I thank everybody for their genuine good wishes which are very much appreciated and reciprocated in the sense that I very much value the wealth of experience around the table here today which has been gained not least through many years of parliamentary, ministerial and other experience and experience gained by the committee through its commitment to foreign travel and gaining experience on the ground. It is a resource which I intend to tap into, use and respect very much. In a rapidly changing global situation, the information this committee and its members have individually and collectively gained through their travels is a resource that should be available to the country and the Government.
In presenting the current work of Irish Aid and our future plans, I will focus on several ongoing threats to the well-being of the world's poorest people, which we should at all times remember are at the heart of the Irish Aid programme. These include natural disasters, the crisis caused by rising food prices, climate change and poor governance in several countries, particularly in Africa. I will also give the committee a sense of our response and how I see future priorities in the area of international development aid and co-operation.
The overriding objective of our programme of overseas development assistance has been and will continue to be the fight against global poverty and exclusion. The combination of factors putting renewed pressure on the world's most vulnerable communities should lead us to redouble our efforts to reach the millennium development goals. The goals represent broad international consensus and progress in reaching them must continue to be central to the fight against global poverty generally and in particular, Ireland's response to this global problem.
Ireland has a long and proud history of responding to the needs of developing countries and I intend to build on the work of my predecessors in providing leadership towards reaching the millennium development goals. This year, Ireland will spend a total of €914 million on overseas aid. By any standards, this is a very significant amount of money. The commitment cements our position as one of the most generous international donors of overseas aid.
The OECD has ranked Ireland as the sixth most generous donor country per capita in the world. This is something of which we as a people should be very proud. We have reached 0.54% of GNP, which means that very significant progress has been made towards our goal of spending 0.7% of GNP on overseas development aid by 2012. It is sometimes forgotten that while €914 million represents 0.54% of our GNP, it represents a significantly higher percentage of our overall budget. At a time when there are constraints on our budget, we should not lose sight of this fact as a country with a relatively small budget in international terms. This level of funding has allowed us to respond in very practical ways to the challenges I mentioned earlier and to make a significant difference to people’s lives in developing countries. I look forward to the collective view of the committee and individual suggestions as to how this may be incorporated into our policy.
Vulnerability has once again been highlighted by the recent humanitarian disasters that have struck the people of Burma and China. In Burma, even now, the full extent of the destruction caused by cyclone Nargis is not clear. However, it is estimated that 2.4 million people were affected by this catastrophe. The initial reaction of the ruling military regime is simply unacceptable. Its early refusal to allow access to both UN and NGO experts caused unnecessary suffering for the people of that unfortunate country. As has been pointed out by Deputy Shatter, what started out as a natural and humanitarian disaster could now very well become a man-made disaster, which is unacceptable.
Following on the intervention of the UN Secretary General and pressure from its neighbours in the ASEAN group, there was some softening in the initial negative attitude of the military regime. However, this appears to have been a mere token gesture at this stage. The position on NGO access is still unsatisfactory, however, with very limited access for those NGOs which had no previous presence in the country. The Minister and I will continue to urge the regime to welcome all international NGOs that have the capability to help affected communities cope with this disaster. In addition to cash contributions totalling €1 million, two airlifts of essential humanitarian supplies from Irish Aid's pre-positioned stocks in Brindisi, Italy, and the Curragh have been carried to Burma. I attended the loading of the most recent airlift in Dublin airport last Thursday. The aid materials provided by that flight will help provide shelter, sanitation and other essential inputs to around 10,000 people affected by cyclone Nargis.
The earthquake which hit Sichuan province in China on 12 May has also had catastrophic and far-reaching consequences. Ireland provided €1 million in relief assistance to affected communities through the International Federation of the Red Cross. Members of the committee will note the difference in the response of the Chinese authorities and those in Burma. To answer a question raised by members, the Chinese community has led by example to its neighbour in how it interacted with the international community in a way which it may not have done 20 or 30 years previously.
I highlighted these two humanitarian disasters to illustrate that Ireland Aid contributes to crises which have received less media coverage but have equally devastating effects on the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Last year, we spent more than €140 million responding to the needs of people in crisis in more than 45 countries. These include Bangladesh, in the wake of hurricane Sidr, and Darfur and Chad, where the humanitarian situation remains desperate. This money was spent with the aim of saving lives, alleviating suffering, maintaining human dignity and rehabilitating affected communities, both during and in the aftermath of crises, be they natural or man-made disasters.
The recent sudden escalation in world food prices is also having a disproportionate impact on the world's poor. In these communities where more than 50% of disposable income is spent on food, the impact of such sudden price increases can quickly tip vulnerable families into abject poverty and starvation. Already this year, we have seen serious rioting in numerous urban centres in the developing world. This is a source of major concern for me.
Irish Aid has supported the work of international agencies such as the World Food Programme, WFP, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development over many years to raise agricultural productivity and fight famine. We have stepped up this support of late. The Government's total allocation to the WFP so far this year is more than €20 million.
We are also making a strong contribution at policy level. The hunger task force established last year will identify the additional and effective contributions that Ireland can make to international efforts to reduce hunger. The recommendations of the task force, which are expected in the coming weeks, are particularly timely given the food price increases and the pressing search for responses to this challenge.
A related issue is climate-change. Drought has no doubt contributed to rising food prices and falling productivity in some regions. Unfortunately, developing countries which have contributed least to causing climate change are feeling the worst effects of it with an increasing incidence of drought and adverse weather events. These countries also have the weakest capacity to adapt to climate change. Irish Aid is committed to ensuring that developing countries have the capacity to effectively engage with the ongoing international processes that will determine the future global response to climate change.
Poor governance and corruption can ultimately undermine efforts to promote pro-poor growth. As Deputies are aware, governance is one of four key cross-cutting issues for Irish Aid. We are working with our partner countries and with civil society organisations to improve oversight mechanisms and promote and protect human rights and the rule of law to ensure that democratic accountability is promoted.
We are also building the capacity of public institutions active in the fight against corruption and funding improvements to government auditing systems. Without continuous progress in this area the benefits of economic growth and development are unlikely to reach those who need them most.
Irish Aid has robust systems in place to ensure value for money. These include evaluation and audit systems to ensure that our funds are used for their intended purpose and that lessons are learned from previous development interventions. The audit committee, which provides an independent appraisal of our audit and evaluation arrangements, ensures that the highest standards of accountability and transparency are maintained.
The next OECD peer review of Ireland's development co-operation programme will take place in March 2009. This review is of critical importance to the reputation of Irish Aid, both domestically and internationally, since it provides an authoritative assessment of the quality and effectiveness of Ireland's approach to development. Ireland's performance in past reviews has been very good.
We face many challenges in managing a significant expansion of the programme while decentralising much of the Department to Limerick, but significant positive developments have taken place within the organisation and the programme since the last review. Ireland's development co-operation programme is recognised internationally as being of a very high standard and we have a very positive story to tell. We are also working with other donor countries within the OECD to improve the quality and effectiveness of aid efforts in line with the Paris declaration. Irish Aid will participate actively in the high level forum on aid effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, in September.
Partnerships are key to reaching our global development objectives. Irish Aid will continue to build on our strong collaboration with the Irish NGO community and missionary organisations in the coming years. Four leading NGOs, namely, Concern, Goal, Trócaire and Christian Aid, will receive approximately €400 million from Irish Aid between 2007 and 2012. The committee will acknowledge this is a significant amount of money. A total of €20 million will be channelled to the Irish Missionary Resource Service this year.
As I stated at the beginning of this presentation, the key focus of Ireland's development co-operation programme is on fighting poverty and exclusion. For this reason we will continue to concentrate our support on the social sectors including health and education. For example, we allocate more than €100 million a year to tackling HIV and AIDS and other communicable diseases, particularly in the African continent.
As Deputy Deasy correctly pointed out, it is essential that the public is aware of the principles, the objectives and the impact of the Irish Aid programme. Much work has been done in this area recently including the establishment of an Irish Aid volunteering and information centre in Dublin earlier this year, the broadcasting of the final series of the "Far Away Up Close" programme on RTE and the success of the Africa Day celebrations held in Ireland last month. I reiterate the invitation by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, for members of the committee, individually or collectively, to visit the centre.
To answer Deputy Deasy's question, we depend enormously on confidence and goodwill in the efficacy and effectiveness of the programme. Without this, we would cease to operate. The moneys we spend are considerable and I take the Deputy's point on this. He is pushing an open door.
I mentioned that I saw off the aid airlift to Burma. To answer Deputy Shatter, this aid airlift will be tracked each individual part of the way, from where it arrives in Bangkok to Rangoon and by our aid agencies on the ground right to the Dedaye township, which has a population of 10,000. It will be tracked all the way and I am confident it will meet the people. Despite having seen off the airlift, for reasons of their own the media did not choose to highlight this real contribution we are making to people on the ground.
I also take Deputy Shatter's point. I have concerns and I initiated a process to identify any system weaknesses that exist and to deal with them as soon as possible.
The Oireachtas has a crucial role in promoting public understanding and in scrutiny of the programme and I am delighted to interact with the community in the weeks and months ahead to ensure it becomes a reality. I look forward to listening to the views of the committee and working with it in the times ahead to provide a comprehensive, accountable and effective way in our fight against global poverty.
I thank the Chairman. I understand the time constraints but I will try to deal with the questions which have already arisen and those which will arise as effectively and efficiently as I can.