Ireland will bear a higher proportion of the cost of development work by the United Nations following the Government's decision to increase funding to the Irish aid programme for less-developed countries, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said at UN headquarters yesterday.
Pointing out that the Taoiseach had given a commitment at last week's Millennium Summit "on behalf of the Government and people of Ireland" to meet the UN target on overseas development spending within seven years, the Minister of State said UN agencies working in this area could therefore "expect that Ireland will bear a higher proportion of their core resource budgets".
The Minister, who has responsibility for the overseas aid programme, was addressing a "crisis meeting" of development ministers from over 40 countries to discuss the financial difficulties of the world body's largest development agency, the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
International funding for the agency has fallen from over $1 billion to less than $700 million, resulting in sharp cuts in UN development work in the world's poorest countries.
Ireland has been a member of the UNDP executive board for the past three years and will contribute £3.4 million to the agency this year, although the Minister said this was not always easy to defend politically because the UNDP was "not well known outside of the UN system".
UNDP was established in 1965 and its activities extend to over 170 developing countries.
"The UN Development Programme strives for sustainable human development and the elimination of poverty. Ireland has long been a supporter of UNDP and we have increased our contributions to the programme in 12 out of the last 13 years," Ms O'Donnell said.
"In 2000, Ireland's contribution to UNDP increased by 35 per cent in recognition of the ongoing and continuous efforts to reform and adapt the organisation to better fulfil its unique development mandate. Ireland is only one of nine countries contributing above $1 per capita to UNDP.
"Ireland will be increasing its ODA budget in coming years as we reach the 0.7 per cent GNP target for overseas development assistance."
Ms O'Donnell added: "I look forward to working with UNDP in the coming years to ensure that it remains the lead agency for development in the UN system and that its development activities are put on a sound footing. I also look forward to UNDP leading the way in the UN system, as it has in the past, on the reforms necessary so that real development results are delivered to those that need them most."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, will be addressing the General Assembly for the first time on Thursday. His speech will cover such issues as UN reform, peacekeeping, disarmament, aid to the developing world and the fight against HIV/AIDS. He last spoke at the UN in April, during a conference on nuclear disarmament.
Tomorrow he meets other countries in the New Agenda Coalition - Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden - to discuss how the progress made at that conference can be consolidated. The New Agenda group, founded two years ago in Dublin, is dedicated to pursuing nuclear disarmament in the aftermath of the Cold War.
The Minister is scheduled to meet his EU counterparts this morning prior to the opening of the General Assembly. It is traditional for EU foreign ministers to co-ordinate their views at the start of each session.