Economic growth to determine overseas aid

THE SCALE of the State’s economic growth would determine if Ireland could meet its commitment to provide 0.7 per cent of gross national product in overseas aid by 2015, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Jan O’Sullivan said. “We do not know what national wealth will be in the years ahead.”

Last year, she said, Ireland had contributed €675 million to official aid, most of it coming through the Irish Aid section in the Department of Foreign Affairs.

She said the 0.7 per cent target was in line with the long-standing United Nations target for official development assistance with the commitment of the EU.

“It is clear that in current circumstances, this will be a challenging target to meet.

“However, the Government was elected to face up to the challenges of rebuilding our society and our economy and of restoring economic growth and our international reputation.”

She believed this could be done without undermining Ireland’s work to improve the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

Ms O’Sullivan said she intended visiting a number of African countries over the coming months to see the difference Ireland’s work was making to the lives of poor families and communities, and to assess how its contribution should be strengthened, especially in the area of hunger.

She had begun the process of reviewing the 2006 White Paper on overseas development aid. That would take a number of months because she wanted to genuinely consult with people.