Eamon Gilmore
Ceist:35 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the use of IMF gold stockpiles to fund debt cancellation. [13589/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 28 April 2005
Ceisteanna (56, 57, 58)
Eamon Gilmore
Ceist:69 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the prospect of 100% debt cancellation for the poorest countries in the world; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that at a recent meeting of the G7, Ministers moved to support this initiative; his views on this stance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13588/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Jack Wall
Ceist:92 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if progress was made on the issue of debt cancellation at the meeting of the IMF and World Bank in April 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13576/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 35, 69 and 92 together.
I welcome the statement from the recent ministerial meeting of the IMF and the World Bank that further debt relief is needed to secure long-term debt sustainability and support progress towards the millennium development goals. These financial institutions will now examine detailed proposals which would extend beyond the existing highly indebted poor countries initiative, HIPC.
I also welcome the statement by the G7 Finance Ministers and central bank governors that they are willing to provide as much as 100% reduction of debts owed by the highly indebted poor countries to the international development fund and the African development fund of the World Bank, without reducing the resources available to the poorest countries through these institutions.
These statements are very much in line with Ireland's policy on the debt problems of poor countries which calls for reforms to the way in which the World Bank and the IMF assess levels of debt sustainability. Ireland advocates 100% debt cancellation under certain circumstances and on the basis of additional resources from donors.
While there are differing views about the merit of selling or revaluing part of the IMF gold reserves to fund debt relief, it is not the approach favoured in our debt policy. We see debt relief as a means of providing a sustained increase in resources for developing countries. A one-off operation on IMF gold would not achieve this. Debt sustainability needs to be achieved, while maintaining and increasing the resources available to the developing countries. Any proposal to sell or revalue the IMF gold reserves would of course have to be considered by the Minister for Finance and by the Central Bank.