Ms Morína O'Neill:

The corporation has been linked, through its connections with security firms, with forced evictions, kidnappings and killings of up to 92 people, according to figures from the Honduran National Commission for Human Rights. Along with our international civil society partners, we believe this case is so serious it demands a response from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

We also wish to raise more general concerns about the IFC's lending through financial intermediaries. Approximately 40% of its total funding goes through financial intermediaries. A recent audit by an independent body charged with oversight of the IFC revealed an astonishing lack of oversight of such lending. The report stated that the IFC knows very little about the potential environmental or social impact of its lending through these financial intermediaries.

The annual reports of the Department of Finance on Ireland’s participation in the World Bank and IMF show that, through Irish Aid, Ireland is a supporter of IFC projects. The briefing material provided to committee members highlights three projects which show that Ireland contributes to the IFC. While there is no reason to believe there are any pending complaints about these specific projects, we believe Ireland cannot provide funding to a small number of projects without attending to wider IFC policy and practices. The Irish Government should make a statement condemning any human rights abuses linked to IFC investments and indicate to the IFC that Ireland will consider suspending investments in the IFC until it corrects its behaviour and any necessary redress for communities is put in place.

We also wish to raise the link between debt and tax justice. We are increasingly involved in tax justice.

The debt of many countries in the global south has been created by the lack of policy alternatives. Let me highlight one of the reasons for the debt. Governments around the world, including Ireland, have failed to meet their ODA spending obligations. This contributes to the fiscal constraints of Governments in the global south. The members of the joint committee will be well aware of the cuts to the overseas aid budget for the past six years and that no timetable is in place to meet our target. Debt and Development Coalition Ireland supports the campaign Act Now on 2015, which calls on Ireland to meet its ODA spending obligations.

One of the greatest financial drains to global south countries is the loss of revenue through both legal and illegal forms of tax dodging. Debt and Development Ireland believes the implications of tax dodging really deserve to be the topic of a separate hearing of the committee. Our partners in Ireland are working on this issue both at home and internationally. Countries in the global south lose up to €870 billion every year through illicit financial flows. Together with Irish and European groups, we are advocating for change in a number of critical areas to support international tax justice. We are focusing on greater tax transparency - for example, the establishment of a public register of the beneficial owners of companies in Ireland; the introduction of extended country-by-country reporting by all large companies of profits and taxes in every country in which they operate; and the establishment of an intergovernmental body on tax matters under the auspices of the United Nations.

We are concerned by the Government's stated support for the OECD as opposed to the United Nations as the leading forum for international tax decisions. This aspect of tax is a rapidly evolving policy area. As the current Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, BEPS, is an OECD-led project, it excludes many countries of the global south. Although progress was made on tax transparency during the Irish Presidency in 2013, the Government appears to have taken a wait-and-see position within the current multilateral action as opposed to clearly articulating its policy or solutions.

We have been very encouraged on learning that the Tanzanian public accounts committee has decided to launch an inquiry into financial outflows relating to taxation from Tanzania. We suggest to members of this committee that this could be a fruitful area of co-operation between the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade and its counterpart in Tanzania.

My colleague Ms Nessa Ní Chasaide will summarise our recommendations.