The Minister of State for overseas aid has said the Government may increase funding for family planning programmes in the developing world this year, despite some opposition to the move.
Mr Tom Kitt indicated that he would not bow to pressure from those opposed to funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) such as Connacht/Ulster MEP, Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon.
Ms Scallon has opposed both EU and Irish support for the organisation, which provides sexual and reproductive health programmes in developing countries. Ms Scallon said yesterday she advocated suspension of Irish resources to the organisation until "question marks" over it were cleared up.
She has also claimed that EU funding for the UNFPA could be used to fund abortions in the world's poorest countries.
The Irish Government contributed €1.84 million last year to the UNFPA, a 45 per cent rise on 2000.
Mr Kitt said yesterday the Government this year "gave an assurance that we would continue with the same levels of support and maybe even additional support to the organisation. It's an organisation we feel is doing very important work and we feel it's vital that we continue that support."
Asked whether he would bow to pressure to people like Ms Scallon who are opposed to resourcing the fund, Mr Kitt replied: "No, no, no. I wish people like that would actually go and visit these countries and see what this organisation is doing."
Mr Kitt made his remarks following the publication yesterday of a UNFPA report which presented evidence that promoting better reproductive health also reduces poverty.
The Irish Family Planning Association, which is the UNFPA's collaborative partner in Ireland, said a small but vocal force here was actively working to pressurise the Government to stop its funding of the UNFPA.
"It is critical that this resistance to Government and EU support for family planning and sexual health programmes in developing countries is not allowed to gain momentum," said the association's chief executive, Ms Catherine Heaney. She claimed that a "campaign of misinformation and spurious allegations" had already resulted in the withdrawal of $34 million (€34 million) funding for the UNFPA this year.
Ms Scallon, however, maintained there were "huge questions over the position of the UNFPA in China and its enabling of the one-child policy...I think that there are many questions that have to be answered and the position of the UNFPA has not been cleared in this." She said she had written to the Irish Government expressing the "countless deep concerns" of people who had contacted her, and would be happy to meet Mr Kitt.
Ms Heaney said Ms Scallon had "no basis for linking the work of the UNFPA with coercive policies in China", adding that the fund did not provide resources for abortion.