Madam, - It was with great surprise that I learnt the Labour Party is launching a major campaign in Dublin to pressure the Government into honouring its commitment to increase spending on overseas development aid (ODA) to 0.7 per cent by 2007.
In 2005 €535 million will be made available for ODA. This compares extremely favourably with the paltry €96 million allocated in 1997 by the Labour Party's Joan Burton. Our contribution next year represents 0.39 per cent of our GNP, well above the EU average of 0.36 per cent.
I realise that Ms Burton and her cronies have been in Opposition so long they have forgotten what it is like to make difficult decisions regarding the allocation of limited resources to competing and deserving demands. It is extremely disingenuous to accuse this Government of failing to look after those on the margins on society when a total of €1.8 billion will be made available for ODA over the next three years.
Perhaps Ms Burton should look a little closer to home and ask herself how much she feels she and her government achieved when they contributed a sixth of this amount. - Yours, etc.,
CHARLIE O'CONNOR, TD,
(Fianna Fáil),
Dáil Éireann,
Dublin 2.