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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 3 Jun 2004

Vol. 587 No. 1

International Development Association (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed).

Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this small but important Bill. I contrast the lack of enthusiasm of the House in dealing with this Bill with the matter we just discussed. While I support the emergency legislation introduced in the past week, it can be introduced in a matter of hours. However, Second Stage of the International Development Association (Amendment) Bill commenced on 11 December 2003 and is still on Second Stage. It begs the question as to how committed we are to those in more difficult circumstances than us.

We welcome the headlines in today's newspapers stating that tax revenues have increased again. This must be balanced by the Government's refusal to spend on the needy in this country despite the improvement in our finances. The Minister's opening speech on the Bill was made shortly after the budget, which gave a clear indication of a slowdown in support for development needs. I support this worthwhile Bill. However, it represents only part of the overall programme of development aid in which we are involved.

The Government set itself a target for development aid of 0.7% of gross national product by 2007. While progress was made between 2000 and 2003, it has been arrested this year. It is a sad reflection that as soon as there seemed to be some tightness in the country's finances, the first people on whom we put the screws were those in most need. This happened not only at international level but also in social welfare where 16 cuts were made including cuts affecting widows.

If the Government's target for 2007 is to be taken seriously we are now well past the half-time mark. However, only a quarter of the improvement needed to achieve the target has been realised and three quarters of the improvement remains to be achieved. I am concerned that because of tightness and cutbacks, no improvement will be made this year. If the Government is serious about its commitment, it must make a firm statement on how it plans to achieve its target by 2007.

Some agencies in the field are concerned that the move in 2004 to stop the slow progress in its tracks will have implications for the different bodies concerned. It would be encouraging to hear that the Government was committed and would give a firm indication as to how it will meet its targets. There is a clear case for making this contribution and achieving the targets set out by the Taoiseach. It is important that Ireland not only reiterates its commitment but puts in place a strategic plan to fulfil it. Ireland must seek to use its considerable international influence in this regard. The year in which the Taoiseach is President of the European Union is the year in which we should lead the way in this area. It is striking how, internationally, vast sums could be found suddenly for the Iraqi war and all that it entailed. On the whim of a couple of people which we now know was not based on fact, lives and billions have been lost. Nevertheless, we curtail the money for development.

The Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, and I have both been involved in farm organisations and we know how tight circumstances are. We should look back at the great farming leader, the late Mr. T. J. Maher, who was president of the NFA and, subsequently, the IFA. He recognised that we should contribute to the least well-off and he put in place structures to bring Friesian heifers out to countries in need. The aim was to give them long-term wherewithal rather than a few bob for the day. Other people organised systems of bored wells. These actions were in keeping with the old saying that if one gives a man a fish, he will live for a day, but if one gives him a fishing line he will live forever. Deputy Parlon and I are now Members of this House and we should be in a position to ensure that a real commitment is made. It is not enough to initiate small projects, though these may be very worthwhile. We should lead from the front.

Whenever a call is made for voluntary contributions for disabled persons or to alleviate hunger, the Irish people have always shown through street collections or direct contributions that they are prepared to give. Therefore, we should not be afraid to fulfil the Taoiseach's commitment every year rather than introduce cutbacks. The Bill is short and its purpose is to enable Government to contribute to the International Development Association which is a World Bank structure. It is important that the Government ensures that we not contribute only through banking structures which entail demands on poorer countries. While the bank will provide interest free loans over long periods, as a well-off State we should ensure that countries in which less than 5% of GDP is being spent on social provision do not neglect such provision by being forced to repay bank loans.

It is very important that we contribute money on a reasonable and understanding basis. The explanatory memorandum indicates that the International Development Association fund will help the world's poorest countries to reduce poverty by providing credits which are loaned at zero interest. There will be a ten-year grace period and a loan's maturity will be 35 to 40 years. That looks fine on paper and it is something I support. However, it is important to ensure that where a country experiences a hiccough ten years down the road, the needs of the poor are addressed before loan repayments.

The mission of the fund is to support efficient and effective programmes to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life in the development association's poorest member countries. This is extremely welcome. We must lead the way. One cannot help but think back to all of those who had to leave this country. I was in Canada recently where I was reminded of the boatload of 350 people who left my immediate area in Cahans near Ballybay. They left 80 years before the famine due to the difficulties Ireland experienced at the time. No one needs to remind Irish people what the black year of 1847 meant. The soup kitchens remain to remind us of the dire poverty. We experienced the exodus of hundreds of thousands in the last century prior to our entry into the EEC to Canada, Australia, America and our nearest neighbour England. The proof is in the vast numbers who set up their homes abroad because we could not afford to keep them here. As late as the 1980s, 40,000 had to leave one year. I remember the late Brian Lenihan relating the statistic as more or less a good thing given that these people were able to find jobs elsewhere.

Thank God, that has changed. Now that we claim to be leaders in modern prosperity, we must lead the way in our overall strategy on world development rather than simply through the small token of this Bill. I urge a re-examination of our development strategy. We must give firm commitments to provide funds to allow planned initiatives to go ahead. There is no point in planning an initiative for 2007 on the basis of funds which may not be available to be spent. Organisations can only plan for the future if they know what funds they will receive in 2005 and beyond. Any programme of world aid in which we are involved will only be worthwhile if we commit to funding it.

We are not short of funds. As I outlined earlier, we have approximately €1 billion more in Exchequer receipts than we anticipated due to increased taxes and under spending. We do not only have problems in the Third World, we continue to have them here. The mother of a 29 year old with special needs spoke to me yesterday. He lives with her without access to any support when he needs to be given a training place or something of that nature. It is extremely difficult to speak to such a person or to hear a daughter crying on the phone because she cannot get her aged mother with mental health difficulties into full-time care. While we must lead the way and deal with those issues at home, we must also deal with problems abroad.

Some €15 million was spent on Punchestown. The sum of €52 million was spent without any discussion in the House on an e-voting system. One need only consider this morning's air traffic control problems in the UK to realise that no electronic system is fool proof. We need back-up structures. While I do not wish to reopen the argument on this issue, I note the waste of money. A further €250 million went on "the Bertie bowl". The country is not experiencing a scarcity of funds. There is plenty of money available. Not only should we enact the legislation necessary to allow the investment of €50 million in the International Development Association, we should reconsider the manner in which we support Third World activities in the long term.

There are tremendous organisations desperately trying to help. I am involved with Christian Aid and I recognise the contributions of GOAL and many other bodies. They have a role to play and they need to be assured that the finance will be available to help them fulfil it. Some of the larger countries have pulled back. This year above all, when we have an opportunity during our last few days holding the EU Presidency, I ask the Minister of State to implore the Taoiseach to ensure that proper long-term commitments from Ireland and, through him, from Europe are made for this needy area.

Many people are concerned at the focus of the initiative for highly-indebted countries. There is a fear that while welcome, this initiative has focused too much on bankers' interests and their approach to debt problems and has not concentrated sufficiently on the needs of the countries involved. It is important that the initiative is not taken in the name of bankers but in the name of Christian charity. It is wrong that a country trying to repay a debt should be able to spend only 5% of its GDP on social programmes. We need to ensure that a coherent programme is in place.

We welcome this Bill. It is important that Ireland should continue to support the International Development Agency, a significant player in many of the most worthwhile programmes in the world. It is a useful influence in the development of policy. I hope that Ireland will use its voice in the agency to promote a more positive development approach in the area of need.

I support the Bill. The Minister of State and his party have a role to play to ensure that the Taoiseach and especially the Minister for Finance, who has never had so much money available to him, make a real commitment. This Bill had its first reading in this House on 11 December. If the Government is serious about supporting those worse off than ourselves it will ensure that the Bill is passed before the summer recess. Otherwise it will seem like a joke.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. As my colleague Deputy Crawford noted, the Bill initially was brought to the House last December by the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, and we are now only on Second Stage. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, to speed the Bill's progress through the House.

The Bill is designed to enable the Government to make a total payment of €50 million to the World Bank, the lending agency. The money is payable over six years. It is intended for the International Development Association which provides grants and zero interest, long-term loans to the world's poorest developing nations. The Bill amends the National Development Association Acts 1960 to 1999 to allow the payment be made to the IDA.

In principle, Fine Gael welcomes the Bill. Helping out the poorest nations is only right. To many people, a sum of €50 million is big money but it is very small in terms of helping the poorest nations, particularly those in Africa, many of whose people suffer from starvation. We are still dealing with the Bill six months after its introduction. As we speak, people are dying in poorer countries of disease and starvation. There has been considerable debate on the issues involved, particularly on how money is spent in the area. The United States Government has been very vocal on this subject, which is regrettable when one considers that the United States contributes a smaller percentage of its GDP to underdeveloped countries than any other developed country.

The International Development Association helps the world's poorest countries reduce their poverty levels by providing credits which are loans at zero interest, with a ten-year grace period and maturities of 35 to 40 years. Ireland joined the IDA on its foundation in 1960. The IDA gets its resources mainly from grant contributions by wealthy countries. We all know the many challenges faced by the poorest countries as they strive towards the millennium goal agreed in the Monterey conference on financing for development held in March 2002. For example, the countries must respond to the competitive pressures as well as the opportunities of globalisation. They must also try to stop the spread of the AIDS and HIV epidemic which faces many African countries. They must provide clean water and basic education. They also have to deal with many conflicts in areas where dictators starve the people and where there is no food available.

Africa's AIDS crisis continues to dominate the agenda. During Ireland's EU Presidency, Deputy Kitt held a very important and successful AIDS conference in Dublin highlighting the problem of AIDS in Africa. A member of the Holy Ghost order addressed the foreign affairs committee about a month ago and I attended one of the sessions. It was frightening to hear of the devastating effect which HIV and AIDS have in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, where this priest was based. He is now based in Dublin but almost every time he returns to Africa another parish and many of its people have disappeared because of AIDS and HIV.

About 23 million people in Africa have died of AIDS. It is important to keep this issue on the agenda and to educate people. Education is what it is all about. Some 113 million people worldwide have no access to any education. That is responsible for much of this problem. Almost half of African children and a quarter of all children in Asia are totally deprived of fundamental education.

I spent some time in Indonesia about two years ago and at one stage a local guide drove me to the rain forests and villages so that I could see for myself how people live there. They live in small villages and do not know what is happening in the outside world. Children as young as eight or nine years work for 12 to 15 hours daily, with no rights. They are exploited. This is the lifestyle of these people and it is very sad.

The developing countries have signed up to the United Nations millennium development goals so that every child might have a chance to go to school, a target to be achieved by 2015. Education is the best way to tackle poverty and helps people to help themselves.

Members know of the good work done by Irish missionaries and Ireland has a tradition of helping Third World countries. When I was going to school, we gave a penny to help the black babies but things have moved on since then. Irish agencies, including GOAL and Trócaire, have undertaken significant work and I also commend the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Kitt, who travels far and wide evaluating the work of Irish agencies overseas. The former Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, was also very concerned with the issue of development and at one time protested that the Government was not giving enough money to help developing countries.

From my own area of Killaloe, the local diocese set up a mission in Africa some years ago which continues to do great work. A good friend of mine was stationed there for several years and worked on a number of projects to bring fresh water to villages, something many areas did not have. Many such villages where Irish lay people work now have fresh water and schools. This is one aspect which has changed over the years. While, in the past, many of those who did such good work were missionaries, the focus is now on lay people, particularly nurses, who travel overseas to help people in the Third World.

Deputy Crawford referred to the predecessor of the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, as president the IFA, the late T. J. Maher, who was another man of the earth. Mr. Maher saw the benefit of people helping themselves and established a successful project in Limerick called Bóthar. Farmers were asked to make a contribution of a cow, sheep or other animal which was then taken to help feed a family in Africa. This was an important project which helped many people in the Third World.

Ireland has a good record in regard to development and this should continue. In the 1980s, Bob Geldof was very successful in his campaign on behalf of famine victims in Ethiopia and Africa. I urge the Minister to ensure the Bill is passed as quickly as possible as all the parties agree on its importance. While €50 million is not a hugely significant amount, it is a sizeable contribution. I welcome the Bill and hope it passes through the House quickly.

I welcome the Bill. Ireland has for many generations been at the forefront in assisting other countries, particularly poorer countries. This goes back to the early Christian period when we allegedly civilised most of Europe in religious terms. While I am not sure how successful that was in the long term, there has always been an Irish tradition of service outside the country, particularly in poorer countries.

More recently, many of our religious orders have shown tremendous commitment. I particularly refer to the Medical Missionaries of Mary, an order founded in Drogheda, County Louth, where I live. It is an order of sisters which does fantastic work, particularly in Africa. It has built up a strong network of members and supporters of the order and has done Trojan work, particularly in the fight against AIDS in the poorer African countries. The founder of the order, Mother Mary Martin, left a legacy of which we can all be justly proud. The Medical Missionaries of Mary operated at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda until it was taken over by the health board. They became specialists in many tropical diseases and the hospital became a centre of excellence for treating such diseases. The record of the order is second to none. I also wish to highlight the great work of other orders such as the Christian Brothers, who have taught and carried out other work overseas, and also newer organisations such as GOAL.

There has been a real commitment from Ireland to assist in overseas development, based primarily on Christian principles. Individuals have also been prominent. Bono has shown leadership to the whole world in the fight against the AIDS epidemic. He repeatedly and succinctly makes the point that we are not doing enough to fight AIDS. Obviously, the money the Government will spend on overseas development will help wherever it is targeted. AIDS is killing many millions, particularly in Africa and particularly the young, and leaves millions of families without parents as well as causing huge social problems. I agree that greater emphasis and international support are needed to fight the AIDS epidemic.

The West is very rich and while governments and individuals make a not insignificant contribution, we are not focused enough on combating serious diseases. It is sad to watch television advertisements concerning types of blindness which can be easily cured. Many other illnesses not present in Ireland are present in the Third World and any help we can give must be focused and supported.

There is a contrast between the great lay and missionary work of Irish people in Africa, the commitment of the Irish people to Africa, and the problem of racism here. This is a real problem which we need to do more to tackle. While it is not the subject of this debate, it is a contrast that can be made. Only a minority of Irish people express racist views but this is particularly towards coloured people, and should be of concern to all. It takes from some of the good work done that some people express such dreadful views.

I welcome the Bill, the aims and objectives of which all Members support. In fighting poverty, disadvantage and sickness in other countries, it is important that we are seen to be in the vanguard of this excellent work.

I thank Deputies for their wide ranging and interesting comments on the Bill. The range of views was impressive, both in content and the degree to which the Members of this House have shown a consistent and genuine concern for the affairs of the less well off countries.

Deputies emphasised the need to focus development efforts on the poorest countries of the world and the Bill, as presented, seeks to do this. It makes provision for payment of Ireland's contribution of €50 million payable over six years to the IDA 13 Replenishment.

While sharing the concerns of Deputies about the need for all publicly funded organisations to reform and become more efficient, it would be foolish to pretend there is substance in the call for a more fundamental reform of the economic order. Ireland has benefited greatly from its participation in the process of globalisation and our position is to ensure that all underdeveloped countries are afforded the opportunity to participate in the system on an equal footing in order to bring about better economic and social conditions in their own countries.

Concern was expressed about the Government's progress in achieving the UN target for development assistance. The Government continues to have as an objective the achievement of the ODA target of 0.7% of GNP by 2007. In 2003 Ireland spent €456 million — 0.41 % of GNP — in overseas development aid. Total spending on ODA this year is expected to approach €480 million, the highest ever in the history of the programme.

Finance, however important to the success of overseas development programmes, is not the only criterion on which effectiveness is achieved. Consequently, Ireland's overseas development co-operation policies have as their absolute priority the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries. Deputies will be aware that the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Foreign Affairs published the debt strategy in July 2002, setting out the Government position on developing country debt. We have concluded that, in principle, the total cancellation of the debts of the heavily indebted poor countries, known as HIPCs, is a politically acceptable objective and one that we would support.

I assure the House that the Government will use the leverage of the Irish Presidency of the EU to focus attention on the needs of the developing world. My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Tom Kitt, is using the opportunity provided by the Irish Presidency of the EU to move EU development policy closer to the heart of the Union's external policy. It should not be forgotten that the EU is the largest donor of aid, providing more than 50% of development assistance world-wide.

I thank all the Deputies for the quality of their contributions. Time does not allow for a detailed response in regard to all points made but I am glad all sides of the House are so committed to the attainment of the objectives of poverty reduction and that they support the Government's continued involvement in IDA.

Question put and agreed to.
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