Vol. 449 No. 6
8 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the reservations expressed by the Conference of Religious of Ireland in relation to the increased allocation to APSO in the 1995 budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3836/95]
I am aware that in the post-budget statement, which warmly welcomed the overall increase in official development assistance, the Conference of Religious of Ireland raised concerns about the increase in APSO's budget for 1995.
APSO's budget increase is in keeping with the Government's policy of maximising and encouraging service by skilled Irish personnel in developing countries. I appreciate that views differ about the appropriate use of technical assistance in developing countries. What is vital is that technical assistance is of a kind that will promote sustainable development, stimulate linkages with and training of local people and strengthen local and human institutional capacities.
I am satisfied that ASPO's work responds to needs expressed by developing countries, identified by NGOs, and is not driven by concerns about the returns to Ireland in terms of our domestic employment figures.
The provisions announced in the budget regarding superannuation credits for voluntary service with APSO are further evidence of the priority the Government attaches to encouraging voluntary service by skilled Irish personnel in the developing world.
I welcome the budget increase to APSO. To ease the concerns of the Conference of Religious of Ireland will the Minister indicate the numbers of people involved and give a breakdown of the type of professional work done by APSO personnel?
The Conference of Religious of Ireland welcomed the increase in ODA to £19 million which brings us to the highest level ever in our history. This is appropriate in the Year of the Famine. It is now 0.27 per cent of GNP. They said they welcomed the substantial increase in ODA particularly as it means that the percentage of GNP allocated to development assistance is growing. They also welcomed the substantial increase in the bilateral aid programme and the tax relief in contributions to Third World charities.
In 1994 there were 1,143 assignments by APSO in more than 50 countries. The target for 1995 is 1,250 assignments. The majority of those assignments relate to areas such as education, health, water supply and engineering. They are based on requests by countries in the developing world, by Irish NGOs and particularly by some of the 40 missionary organisations from all denominations who work throughout the developing world.
Recently I had the opportunity to accompany the President on her State visit to Tanzania. Since my appointment I have met a number of Ministers from countries such as Ethiopia and Lesotho, all of whom commented that they highly value the skill and expertise of Irish people. Recently the OECD in a report on the Irish development programme commended us on the quality of the personnel and type of programme in which Ireland has been involved. The Deputy need have no fear about the quality of personnel we are sending abroad and the recipient countries have strongly expressed their appreciation, not simply to me but to the President and in various fora. The OECD comment on the quality of work our people are doing abroad is very valuable.
Will the Minister say whether APSO is expanding into new countries and is it working closely with semi-State bodies in terms of their expertise?
APSO is open to programme suggestions put forward in the main by NGOs and countries with which we have dealings, particularly bilateral countries. Suggestions put forward by semi-State bodies on the development programme rather than on their commercial activities will be examined, as will any other suggestions put forward by the various organisations that work in this area.
(Laoighis-Offaly): Will the Minister confirm that her Department and APSO are well aware of the possible difficulties in coping with the sudden increase in funding? Will she confirm that they have been making strenuous efforts to ensure the extra money is spent in the best possible way? Will she agree that the reservations expressed by Deputy Kitt would not be raised if the amount of money provided was reduced? These reservations are of a different nature from those expressed prior to Christmas when it seemed that the interim administration was going to reduce the amount of money allocated to overseas development aid. Will the Minister confirm that the Government will continue to increase ODA allocations in line with the programme for Government?
Having previously worked in the Department of Social Welfare where the demands tended to be greater than the available money——
Especially with a 2.5 per cent increase.
——it is a pleasant experience to be in a position in which the budget is being substantially increased. Nonetheless the demands in this area are enormous. We are undertaking a detailed examination of our commitments, particularly in Africa, with a view to absorbing the extra money made available in the budget. There is a timescale involved in getting new projects under way and a great deal of planning is needed, but I am confident we will use all the additional money this year.
I am particularly pleased with the commitment of the Minister for Finance to allow superannuation credits for public servants who go abroad. When I became Minister of State at this Department this was one of the matters brought to my attention by APSO, which has been of concern to that organisation for a number of years. What we are talking about here is experienced public servants who take perhaps two to three years off to work in a developing country. Up to now if these people went abroad as volunteers they lost their superannuation for that period and had to repay it when they came back, which was quite expensive, but they will now be given superannuation credits. That will result in a substantial increase in the number of people in that category, people in midcareer who cannot afford to lose superannuation, who will be in a position to take up assignments overseas, and will have a valuable influence on the Irish programme in subsequent years.
It should be recognised that during the Tánaiste's reign in Iveagh House there has been a significant increase in overseas development aid, for which he deserves credit. There is no Vote for this area and it is a great achievement on his part. Will the Minister say by what year it is expected we will reach the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for overseas aid? Will she indicate what is the expected yield to voluntary agencies from the tax concessions announced in the budget?
On the last point, estimates have been made that the benefit to voluntary agencies from the tax concession, whereby when an individual makes a payment of between £250 and £750 a tax rebate will be given by the Revenue Commissioners to the ODA charity involved, will be possibly up to £3 million. The benefit will depend on the extent to which individuals make contributions but I am optimistic that a substantial benefit will accrue to the charities concerned.
On the question of meeting the target, in the last Programme for Government as well as in the programme, A Government of Renewal, a commitment was given to substantially increase the ODA budget on an annual basis. We should be in a position towards the end of the century to meet the United Nations' target. Our contribution to the ODA budget is supplemented by the very substantial individual contributions of Irish people to the charities of their choice.
