Vol. 552 No. 3
39 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Finance if he will support initiatives to cancel the debt of the poorest countries in the world to the extent necessary to ensure that adequate funding is available for free primary education for all the children of those countries. [12422/02]
I consider that the HIPC initiative, strengthened with the development of poverty reduction strategies, is the best mechanism currently available to bring the debts of the highly indebted poor countries to a sustainable level. I have stated on several occasions that the HIPC initiative in its current form may not provide many of the eligible countries with a permanent exit from unsustainable debt, and have given my support to calls for further enhancement of the HIPC initiative, including additional funding on the part of donors, if the initiative fails to meet its stated aim. I have also publicly stated that the current concept of debt sustainability may need to be revised to take account of basic social needs, among which I would certainly include primary education.
While the issue of debt relief is vitally important in the fight against global poverty it also needs to be looked at in the context of the broader international development effort. Mere transfer of resources from other aid programmes, bilateral or multilateral, to fund debt relief would have little, if any, net positive effect on poverty reduction. The challenge now, as I see it, is to mobilise resources globally to meet the UN target of 0.7% of GNP for ODA. Ireland, as the Deputy will be aware, is now making rapid progress toward this goal.
Ireland has consistently advocated the importance of investing in education to alleviate poverty in a sustainable manner. Education is a priority in both our multilateral work with UN and other multilateral agencies, and in bilateral projects in our priority countries. The House will be aware that Ireland Aid is deeply committed to working with the donor community and developing countries to ensure that the millennium development goals, including "Education For All", can be met. I reiterate the Government's commitment to supporting the work of our non-governmental organisations, the religious communities and the international financial institutions in the work of relieving world poverty.
