Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2012
137. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Finance the progress made towards the cancellation of Haiti’s debt by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund; if he will confirm that Canada, which represents Ireland at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, has been pursuing this matter on Ireland’s behalf; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41867/12]
View answerI understand that in 2010 both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cancelled all the outstanding liabilities that they were owed by Haiti. In the case of the World Bank this amount was USD 36 million; for the IMF it was USD 274 million. At the same as it cancelled Haiti’s liabilities, the IMF also approved a request from Haiti for a three-year Extended Credit Facility. So far, approximately USD 47.9 million has been disbursed under this programme.
Ireland forms part of a constituency with Canada at both the World Bank and the IMF and has played a strong role in the development of a consensus on the issue of debt cancellation for the least developed countries. All of our aid is provided in the form of grants, and not loans. We have contributed our full financial share of over Euro116m to the two main multilateral initiatives to address debt relief. We have also worked with our partners in our programme countries to help ensure that the additional money from debt relief has been spent on programmes that benefit the poor.
