Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 December 2013
46. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there is any data available on debt relief for 2012; and if so, the figures in absolute numbers and in percentage of total/bilateral overseas development assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54602/13]
View answerIreland is recognised internationally for our contribution to the fight against global poverty and hunger and our leading role in making international aid more effective. We have played a strong role in the development of an international consensus on the issue of debt cancellation for the least developed countries. When the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were being elaborated in 2000 and subsequent years, it was recognised internationally that high levels of external debt were placing a heavy burden on some of the poorest countries in the world. Because they had to use a significant portion of their foreign currency earnings to repay debt, many heavily indebted poor countries could not devote sufficient resources to the achievement of the MDGs, including the Goal to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty.
In 2006 the Irish Government demonstrated its commitment and leadership in the area of debt relief by contributing its full financial share of over €116m to the two main multilateral initiatives to address debt relief, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, while other states opted to pay for this debt cancellation over a much longer period and in smaller instalments.
We have consistently also worked with Governments in our partner countries in Africa to help ensure that the additional money from debt relief has been spent on programmes that benefit the poor. It is important to note that all of Ireland’s development assistance is provided in the form of grants, and not loans.
On 12 December I attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Development) which adopted Council Conclusions on “Financing Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development Beyond 2015”. Under these Conclusions, the EU pledges continued support for existing debt relief initiatives and to promote responsible lending and borrowing practices.
As more and more countries graduate from the multilateral debt relief initiatives, the question of how they can maintain their debt at sustainable levels has become more relevant. It is for this reason that Ireland contributes € 100,000 annually to the UNCTAD Debt Management and Financial Analysis System programme which provides software solutions and technical assistance to developing countries to manage their debt sustainably.
