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HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTASTITHE AN OIREACHTAISJoint Committee on Foreign AffairsAN COMHCHOISTE UM GHNÓTHAÍ EACHTRACHAReaching United Nations 0.7% Target for Official Development Assistance by 2010Sprioc 0.7% na Náisiún Aontaithe le haghaidh Cúnaimh Oifigiúil Forbartha a bhaint amach faoi 2010REPORTTUARASCÁILJuly 2005Iúil 2005ForewordThe Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs has spent much of its time over the past months considering the question of Official Development Assistance. The following report represents the culmination of this work. At its meeting of 19th July 2005, the Joint Committee unanimously agreed a motion which formally adopted the report and its recommendations and conclusions. The Committee calls on the Government to reach the UN target of 0.7% by 2010 and requests that this date be announced by An Taoiseach at the forthcoming UN summit. The full text of the motion is included at appendix A of the report. I would like to thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for State, Officials from the Department and DCI and representatives from the development NGO’s and Missionaries for meeting with the Committee. I would also like to thank the Members of the Committee for their contributions over the many meetings during which these issues were discussed including the final meeting on July 19th. I would especially like to thank Mary Macnamara BA, for her work in collating the material and the Joint Committee’s Secretariat for their contribution. ____________________ Dr. Michael Woods TD Chairman 19 July 2005 An Comhchoiste um Ghnóthaí EachtrachaJoint Committee on Foreign AffairsList of Members
Joint Committee on Foreign AffairsReaching United Nations 0.7% Target for Official Development Assistance by Official Development Assistance by 2010The Joint Committee has considered at length the level of Irish Official Development Assistance and the Government’s commitment to reach the target of 0.7% of GNP at the earliest possible date. We met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD., the Minister of State, Conor Lenihan TD., officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation Ireland and representatives from the development NGO’s and Missionaries to discuss this issue. In the course of our visits to South Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho, we met with Ambassadors, Heads of Mission, NGO’s and Missionaries working in these countries. Following these visits, several reports and lengthy discussions it is the strongly held, unanimous view of the Joint Committee that Ireland must take the necessary steps to reach the Official Development Assistance target of 0.7% of GNP by 2010. The expansion of Ireland’s aid is a crucial step in tackling the ever increasing problems facing developing countries especially those in Sub Saharan Africa. Ireland must make every possible effort to reach the millennium ODA target of 0.7% of GNP in order to help the millions of people suffering from extreme poverty, disadvantage and disease. We must also set an example for countries that have not yet reached an acceptable level of official aid. Irish aid is of very high quality. This is indisputable. Almost 100% of Irish aid is untied. The fact remains that Ireland has not yet fulfilled its pledge and must decide on a new target date which is both realistic and feasible. This Committee, having examined the issue thoroughly, recommends that the government set the year 2010 as the new date by which ODA will increase to 0.7% of GNP. This date is in line with the decision made by the G8 Summit on the 8th of July this year. The G8 countries have agreed to double aid for developing countries by $50 billion per annum by 2010. Is increased funding really necessary?It is clear that the present level of funding is insufficient to enable the United Nations to tackle poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to eliminate malaria and tuberculosis. Major funds are also required to address the needs of infrastructure, education, health, water and sanitation. In the context of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the World Bank and IMF have estimated that at least $30 billion could be absorbed by poor countries immediately rising to over $50 billion per annum in the medium term. Increased funding is essential in order to make progress in reaching the MDG’s. Ireland’s overseas development workers confirm these reports. Problems facing Ireland’s Programme CountriesIreland has decided to focus on seven priority countries, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania and Timor Leste. Last year An Taoiseach decided to add Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to this list. More recently, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern T.D., stated that “Ireland would be interested in giving aid to Palestine once Israel moves out of Gaza”. All of Ireland’s programme countries are among the 30 least developed countries in the world according to the UN human development ranking index. These countries all require increased funding to address major development problems. Taking Ethiopia and Mozambique as examples we can see how vital it is to increase aid. The World Bank and IMF have found that an immediate doubling of aid could be used effectively in Ethiopia to address problems of extreme poverty, hunger, school enrolment, water, sanitation and HIV/AIDS, and to promote democratic institutions and good governance. Similarly, the World Bank has identified that an extra $85 million could be spent effectively in Mozambique in road rehabilitation and other basic infrastructure, and that a further $225 million per annum would be absorbed effectively over 2005-2015 in areas of education, health, water supply and agriculture. In view of the recent addition of Timor Leste, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to the government’s priority countries for immediate aid, it is of crucial importance that substantial additional funds are made available so that priority work in Sub Saharan Africa does not suffer. These new projects will require considerable increases in resources in order to establish a high quality programme. Increased funding is vital to ensure that the quality of Irish aid is sustained. Humanitarian AssistanceIreland’s emergency humanitarian assistance programme currently stands at €37.5 million for 2005. This includes €10 million additional funding announced by the Government in excess of the original approved budget of €27.5 million. The Committee considers that this allocation should increase so that new crises do not adversely affect other ongoing needs. It is clear that the budget for official development assistance must increase to meet the urgent requirements of the developing world. The government has already committed an additional €130 million by 2007. But we must go further still and reach our 0.7% target by 2010. This is central to the global partnership to increase aid and tackle poverty and disadvantage in the poorest countries of the world. The capacity of the Missionaries, NGO’s and DCI to effectively use increased fundingThe increase of ODA to 0.7% GNP will result in a substantial increase in funds available to DCI, NGO’s and Missionaries. It has been argued that these groups are not in a position to effectively administer such a large increase in funding. An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern T.D., has indicated that, “we must increase our ODA funding, but we also must ensure we get value for it, that the regimes are in order and the projects in place.....One cannot simply pour in the money without watching how it is controlled”. The Joint Committee fully agrees with these comments and also maintains that expenditure must be controlled in order to ensure good governance and value for money. In an effort to investigate this important issue the Joint Committee has held talks with various groups and has found that the necessary steps have been taken. We have been assured by DCI, the NGO’s and the Missionaries that the necessary frameworks are in place to successfully utilise the targeted increase in O.D.A. All groups have comprehensive plans to improve their services and eagerly await the opportunity to employ them. Meanwhile, the White Paper process is proving very fruitful and DCI is drafting a comprehensive National Action Programme, which will outline clearly their agenda for the coming years. Given the governments commitment to greatly increase Ireland’s contribution to ODA allied to the increase in priority partnership countries the Joint Committee considers that the staff recruitment embargo must be modified to enable DCI to recruit the necessary staff to fulfill this mandate. The Joint Committee would like to highlight the very important work that is being done by DCI, the development NGO’s and the Missionaries. The committee is concerned that an insufficient proportion of funding is being allocated to the Missionary Organisations, as represented by the Irish Missionary Resource Service, for distribution throughout the world. Only €12 million of the total budget of €545 million for ODA was allocated to the IMRS this year. All overseas missionary projects have to share this very small sum. Given the extremely high quality, sustainability and value for money of the work that is being done by the Missionaries it is recommended that this allocation be increased substantially. The IMRS has indicated that missionary organizations provide up to 50% of health and education services, across Africa especially in poorer and remote areas. Having visited many of these projects aimed at the improvement of education, health, and the care of orphans and AIDS victims the Committee has seen at first hand the urgent need for greatly increased funding. It has come to the attention of the Committee that Irish embassies and missions abroad had previously been in a position to support local missionary projects. The Committee considers that some flexible funds should continue to be provided to the embassies for this purpose. Tackling CorruptionThere are serious problems associated with the effective management and employment of funds in some developing countries. Corruption can undermine development programmes, diverting funds away from the achievement of the MDG’s. Consequently the control, management and accountability for funds are a primary consideration for the Joint Committee and everybody involved. It is imperative that the necessary steps are taken to tackle corruption to ensure that aid reaches the people who need it most. In this respect the work of DCI and of the Ambassadors and Heads of Mission is exemplary. A crucial part of this work is the development of democratic structures, democratic parliamentary procedures and multi-party participation in the developing countries. Ireland contributes to the cost of these parliamentary processes and is well informed of any developments. Transparency International, which publishes an index of perceptions of corruption in 146 nations, has highlighted the importance of Donor countries, like Ireland, being involved in countries where corruption is a problem so that transparency, accountability and good governance can be encouraged. This is an important feature of the work of DCI. The Joint Committee considers that the presence of a formal legislative framework would greatly assist the efforts currently being made to tackle corruption. European Parliamentarians are calling for the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, or UNCAC in order to create such a framework. This Convention enshrines the principles and tools essential for governments to fight corruption. It includes measures for corruption prevention, criminalization, and asset recovery. This Convention, while signed by 123 governments in Mexico in 2003 has only been ratified by 26 of these countries. 30 countries must ratify the document before it can come into force. The UN Convention on Corruption is an ideal opportunity to further establish good governance worldwide. It is a useful tool for ensuring that UN Aid reaches the people who are most in need by substantially reducing the incidence of corruption. The Joint Committee calls upon the Irish Government to urgently ratify the UN Convention Against Corruption. Ireland’s strong economy enables us to increase ODAIreland is now one of the wealthiest countries in the EU. Our living standards measured in terms of GDP per capita are 23% above the EU average putting us among the top four countries in the world. Ireland, given the strength of its economy can afford to increase its aid budget. Ireland must maintain its position as one of the top donors in the world. The quality of our aid is recognized by OECD as being among the best in the world. Our aid is not phantom aid, or tied aid. It is real aid. We must not use the high quality of our aid as an excuse to hold back on reaching our targets. Five European countries have already achieved the 0.7% target - Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark. These countries have also managed to sustain the quality of their aid. Norway is the highest donor with a massive 0.87% of GNI in 2004. We should follow this example and learn from their experiences in order to reach the U.N. target of 0.7% of GNP by 2010. It is important not to underestimate the generosity and willingness of the Irish people to support the developing world and aid programmes. In a recent survey conducted by UNICEF, Ireland ranks as the second highest donor in the world per capita. Similarly the Tsunami disaster was an occasion of huge generosity in Ireland with an estimated €100 million raised in voluntary contributions for the reconstruction of affected areas. Achieving our goalIn 2004 Ireland succeeded in donating 0.41% of the GNP contributing 475 million euros. In order to reach the 0.7% target by 2010, Ireland will have to increase that percentage by 0.048% of GNP per annum. The rate of economic growth is crucial as the amount we contribute directly relates to our gross national product. In the 2005 budget, growth rates were envisaged to be in the region of 4.7%. The ESRI now say that growth is more likely to be in the region of 5.4% for 2005, and have predicted that the average growth rate for the period 2005-2010 will be 5.1%. At our request DCI provided us with Department of Finance projections which predict the growth rate for this year to be in the region of 8.4%, and an average of 7.6% for the period 2006-2012. Using the Department of Finance projections we have drawn up Table 1. which outlines the percentage increase in GNP and the corresponding increase in real value. Table 1: Ireland’s GNP, 2005-2010
Source: Calculated on projections provided by the Department of Finance. In Table 2 we propose a set of funding increases to be adopted for the years 2005-2010 to meet the UN target of 0.7% of GNP. The figures have been calculated using the estimate figures provided by DCI. By adopting these increases, the level of ODA will be raised from our present 0.41% to the millennium target of 0.7% by 2010. This increase would be within the timeframe recommended by the Joint Committee and in line with the decision of the G8 Summit. By 2010, presuming the GNP grows at the rate predicted; Ireland’s official development assistance will grow from €545m in 2005 to €1.3 billion in 2010. If the growth in GNP is lower as suggested by ESRI, the increases required to meet the target will be considerably less. Table 2: Proposed Irish ODA funding increases, 2005-2010
Even when we contribute 0.7% GNP - 99.3% of our wealth remainsAccepting the forecasts provided by the Department of Finance, the GNP will rise to €190,537 million, an increase of €58,512 million from 2005 to 2010. In reaching the 0.7 % target by 2010, Official Development Assistance will increase by €787 million. Our ability to fund the increases required to meet the UN target by 2010, without negatively affecting government services, has been questioned. These fears are unfounded, as 99.3% of the growth in GNP will remain in the Irish economy with a relatively small amount of 0.7% GNP going to ODA. Of the €58,512 million anticipated growth only €787 million will be required to meet the UN target, while €57,725 million will be added to Ireland’s wealth. If we are concerned about contributing an extra €787 million ODA by 2010 we must bear in mind that we will only reach this figure if our GNP increases by 58.5 billion. The Irish nation will still keep 99.3% of everything we produce in GNP. The current level of public service expenditure is at 40% of GNP and accepting the estimated increase in GNP, an extra €23 billion would be made available for public services, with a balance of €35 billion remaining in the private sector. The two graphs (A,B) which follow clearly show that as the GNP increases a huge volume of extra funding will be available for Government services and for the economy generally while meeting our ODA target of 0.7% GNP by 2010. WHERE THE EXTRA GNP MONEY WOULD GOA.
B.
1 Bernard Allen T.D. replaced Gay Mitchell T.D. by Order of the Dáil on 20th October 2004 2 Bernard J. Durkan T.D. replaced Michael Noonan T.D. by Order of the Dáil on 20th October 2004 3 Michael Mulcahy T.D. replaced Dan Wallace T.D. by Order of the Dáil on 16th November 2004 |
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