Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Ireland favours debt cancellation which has been our position since 2002. As stated, the situation is being reviewed jointly by the Departments of Finance and Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Deputy may be aware that a review of the 2006 White Paper is also under way, which review will feed into the consultation process. We would welcome an input from Members of this House into the review of the White Paper which will inform our policy for a number of years.

On the wider question of what has been happening throughout the world, there has been considerable development in dealing with the issues of debt relief and debt cancellation. A heavily indebted poor countries initiative, HIPCI, was launched in 1996 which was followed by the multilateral debt relief initiative, MDRI, in 2005. Some 38 countries have benefited from these initiatives. As part of the MDRI €33.8 billion has been provided, while €76 billion has been provided as part of the HIPCI, amounting to a total more than €110 billion in debt relief. Three countries recently became eligible for debt relief and four others will shortly become eligible. The process, therefore, is ongoing.

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