Mr. Jim Clarken:

I thank the Chairman for inviting us to come before the committee. We have welcomed the launch of the new policy and Dóchas and the individual agencies will put together comprehensive responses to it.

There was a very long consultation process which was run in order to develop the idea in the first place, and that was welcomed.

We welcome a number of key areas, such as the strengthening of human rights language, as we have advocated this, and the strengthening of gender language, particularly the reference to inequality, access to assets, women smallholder farmers and education etc. There is also the pledge to be open, transparent and accountable. Within this there are areas of concern that will require development over time. The implementation of the policy is where the rubber will hit the road and we certainly want to engage in that process. There is a really good opportunity for the committee, as an oversight body, to have an opportunity to consider this and the key areas of concern.

There is the issue of policy coherence, what it really means and how the whole of government policies can either enhance development effectiveness or cause damage to it. That is something in which this group can have a really important role and help in ensuring there is no damage. The Chairman has mentioned his own interest in that respect and I know others will have very strong views on that too.

Climate change is a new theme within the policy but we are concerned about the language in that, including adaptation and the lack of a sense of commitment and responsibility in terms of mitigation. This concerns what we as Ireland will do and what is our responsibility. Those types of issues must be strengthened to ensure we deliver. It was mentioned in the introduction that the policy speaks of going beyond aid, as we know aid is not the solution to global poverty on its own. Nevertheless, aid is important and we are not in a position to move beyond aid just yet; we will not be able to do so for quite a long time. The aid budget has seen a dramatic cut over a number of years to a point where it has been reduced by over a third. The commitment from the Government is to remain stable at approximately 0.5% of GDP and move to 0.7% of GDP when we can afford it. That is a change in language from the original policy and it is moving from the 2015 commitment. We would encourage this to happen as soon as possible.

There are two areas the committee would like us to address. We have been heavily involved in post-2015 discussions and Ireland plays a key role in co-chairing September's important event in New York. That will speak to what the new framework might look like and we have been very involved in feeding into that in many ways. It is important to recognise that this is a moment to acknowledge how far we have gone in delivering the millennium development goals and what can be done between now and 2015. It is not over yet and we can accelerate progress. There is plenty more to be done and it is not a case of just drawing a line under the process. Today we will discuss the post-2015 framework and how that will change the way we think about development. We should not forget that we are not yet done.

With regard to policy coherence, there are several areas of which the committee should be aware, and we will illustrate some practical examples. The committee may have heard of them but not seen the implications they have on our development efforts. They will continue to grow over time and the importance of the committee's role within this will be developed. It has a specific mention in the policy and we are very interested in the committee's thoughts and how we can support it in the work it must do in the area.

I will now hand over to Mr. McCaughey, who will speak about policy coherence issues.