Vol. 508 No. 3
151 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the level of ODA for each of the past ten years and the projected level for the next three years; the subtotals in amounts and in percentages for bilateral, multilateral and other expenditure; the GNP for the year in question; the percentage of GNP represented by ODA in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18653/99]
152 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the year in which Ireland will reach its commitment to expend 0.7 per cent of GNP in ODA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18654/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 153 together.
As the Deputy will be aware from the question on this subject answered last week, the Government, along with most other donors, is committed to reaching the UN target for aid of 0.7 per cent of GNP.
Official development assistance since 1992 has increased from £40 million to an expected £178 million this year. As a percentage of GNP, Official Development Assistance has arisen in the same period from 0.16 per cent to 0.35 per cent.
In its programme, An Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government committed itself to move to an interim target of 0.45 per cent in its lifetime. Since taking office it has allocated significant cash increments to aid each year. As a result, the allocation in 1999 is expected to reach an all time high of £178 million.
A complication in making equivalent progress in the ODA-to-GNP ratio has been the extraordinary growth in GNP in recent years. In this circumstance it is difficult to predict when the UN target will be reached. However, as a result of an agreement with the Minister for Finance, the aid administered by my Department will continue to increase in cash terms by appreciable amounts in 2000 and 2001. On the following table, figures are provided for ODA from 1992 to 1999. Figures in the detail sought by the Deputy are not easily available for the years before 1992. The figures for 1999 represent the best estimate available at the moment.
It is not possible at this stage to provide reliable estimates of ODA composition for the next three years given the large number of variables involved, from the aid percentage of the EU budget to the demand under the European Development Fund, which is being negotiated. In addition, apart from the usual difficulties in predicting the level of GNP, I understand that a new method of calculating GNP is being introduced.
|
1992AnnualReport£m |
1993AnnualReport£m |
1994AnnualReport£m |
1995AnnualReport£m |
1996AnnualReport£m |
1997AnnualReport£m |
1998AnnualReport£m |
1999Estimate£m |
||
|
A |
Administration |
1.000 |
1.100 |
1.400 |
1.800 |
2.055 |
2.320 |
2.774 |
3.425 |
|
B |
European Community |
17.211 |
17.900 |
25.084 |
27.400 |
25.489 |
25.748 |
34.461 |
42.410 |
|
C(i) |
World Band & United Nations |
6.126 |
6.820 |
6.587 |
8.099 |
8.496 |
9.995 |
9.887 |
25.337 |
|
C(ii) |
UN Voluntary Agencies |
0.800 |
2.100 |
3.996 |
5.480 |
6.499 |
7.499 |
8.430 |
8.400 |
|
D |
Total Multilateral Aid |
24.137 |
26.820 |
35.667 |
40.979 |
40.484 |
43.242 |
52.778 |
76.147 |
|
E |
Bilateral Assistance |
15.182 |
26.749 |
38.110 |
54.039 |
69.527 |
78.585 |
84.053 |
98.742 |
|
Grand Total ODA (A+D+E) |
40.319 |
54.669 |
75.177 |
96.818 |
112.066 |
124.147 |
139.605 |
178.314 |
|
|
Gross National Product |
25,600.000 |
27,500.000 |
30,950.000 |
33,801.000 |
36,983.000 |
40,525.000 |
47,100.000 |
51,300.000 |
|
|
ODA as a Percentage of GNP |
0.16% |
0.20% |
0.24% |
0.29% |
0.30% |
0.31% |
0.30% |
0.35% |
