There is much to be proud of in Ireland's international development aid programme, the details of which are highlighted in the latest annual report from Irish Aid. The Minister responsible, Ms Liz O'Donnell, yesterday drew attention to a favourable review of the programme by the most important peer group in the field, the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD. She mentioned in particular the commendation of its primary emphasis on reducing poverty, the increase in resources devoted to aid and the concern for quality and results.
Ireland stands out among the OECD states for the pace at which governmental aid commitments have been increasing, even as others have declined. This has reflected a determination by successive governments since 1993 to drive them up towards the long-standing international norm of 0.7 per cent of GNP, from what was admittedly a very low base figure. According to Ms O'Donnell, the latest increase of some £40 million brings the 1999 total to £178 million, 0.35 per cent of GNP. It will increase further over the next two years, according to a multi-annual budgeting arrangement; but it seems unlikely to reach the 0.45 per cent target set out by the Government when it came into office and to which it is still committed, according to her statement yesterday - partly, it must be recognised, because of the unprecedentedly high economic growth we have experienced.
So far, there is little evidence that the rapid growth in allocations has overwhelmed the capacity of the existing administrative apparatus to manage them. That is one of the most gratifying aspects of the recent DAC review. The programmes concerned are medium to long-term ones involving commitments of many partners in the African states where most bilateral aid is concentrated. Thus it is essential, that there be as much budgetary certainty as possible attached to them if objectives are to be effectively realised. It is much better to set targets and agree budgets over several years than to have them subject to annual budgetary politicking.
Compared to its ad hoc character 25 years ago when it was inaugurated, the Irish aid programme is now much more coherent and carefully planned. The bilateral programme is, of course, much more tailored to specifically Irish policy objectives, including poverty alleviation, human development and empowerment and human-rights training. But there has also been considerable success in pushing them forward in the multilateral settings in which Irish Aid is also active, including the European Union and United Nations. Irish non-governmental organisations top the OECD table of aid spending relative to GNP. This gives them a national and international influence and authority that underpins the official aid effort.
Ms O'Donnell brought a particular concern for human rights and transparency to the development programmes. These show through in this report and are in tune with contemporary policy-making. Her main task now is to ensure budgetary allocations stay on course with political targets. It would also be useful to explore whether, given the growth in the aid budget, more could be directed to Latin American and Asian countries rather than having most of it concentrated in Africa.