Michael P. Kitt
Ceist:34 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Minister for Finance the efforts, if any, the Government has made in support of debt cancellation for some of the world's poorest and most indebted countries. [4852/96]
Written Answers. - Debt Cancellation.
Since Ireland is not a creditor of any of the world's poorest countries, it is as a member of the multilateral lending organisations, in particular the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, that we can best exercise our influence to seek to contribute to easing the debt burden of these countries. It should be remembered that Ireland's voting strength within those organisations is small, linked as it is to our share of the global economy. Our influence is nonetheless greater than our relative economic weight, because, although we belong to the developed world and the European Union, we have no imperial history, and the contribution of our missionary and voluntary organisations is widely recognised.
We have sought, and will continue, to exercise that influence by calling attention in international fora to the need for initiatives towards easing the debt burden, and in particular by supporting that emphasis by highlighting the human dimension of economic development. However, it may be quantified in macroeconomic terms, development must ultimately find expression in improved welfare of populations as regards food, education, and health.
At the World Social Summit in Copenhagen in March 1995, the Taoiseach was unambiguous in expressing Ireland's concern that much more than has been achieved to date remains to be done to alleviate the debt burden of the poorest countries. He made it clear that Ireland is prepared to look with a fresh mind at all options, including debt cancellation. He also indicated our willingness to envisage, in respect of the debt owed to multilateral institutions, the sale of gold reserves, subject only to not undermining the effectiveness of the institutions themselves.
When I addressed the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington last October, I welcomed the growing acceptance that the burden of debt may be a disabling constraint on the economic and social development of very poor countries. I also urged the institutions to press ahead with work on an initiative to ease the burden of multilateral debt repayment on countries with unsustainable levels of debt.