Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I welcome this Private Members' motion. When the Government, on behalf of the people, committed to leading the way by allocating 0.7% of GNP in development aid, I believed it was a decision of which we should all feel proud. It gave us the credibility to punch above our weight and consolidated Ireland's position as an honest broker. Just as I felt proud of that decision, I was ashamed when it was rolled back on our behalf. Deferring our commitment, in practical terms, means accepting that some lives, mostly those of children, will end prematurely. We cannot account for what other countries do, but we can account for what our country does. Through this climbdown, we are assisting others not to aim for that target.

Having spent some time trawling through the array of information dealing with debt cancellation, development aid, trade justice, campaign against the arms trade and the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, one message became apparent, that of equality and the value we place on the lives of the poorest in the world. Over the past year, the increasing intensity of the campaign by Make Poverty History means all Members are familiar with the horrifying figures that demonstrate the true extent of poverty. Some 600 million children live in absolute poverty and 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases. That is one child every three seconds. By the time I will have concluded, 100 children will not have survived. Some 852 million people, more than the populations of the US, Canada and the EU combined, will not have enough food to eat. One in six children will die before they reach the age of five years. Unfortunately, these statistics are just a sample.

The motion seeks a broad response to ending poverty. This is not just about throwing money at the issue. All Members received an e-mail from GOAL, in which some of the matters raised are worrying. Our Government channels approximately €60 million through the Ethiopian and Ugandan Governments. We should immediately cease funding through the Ethiopian Government. I am not saying we should not assist the people in those countries, but we cannot support regimes that murder their citizens, which happened only last week in Ethiopia.

The Make Poverty History campaign argued for more and better aid. The first assertion is that poverty will not be eradicated without the immediate and major increase in international aid. This is where our obligation starts. The campaign calls for a binding timeframe for the richer countries to reach this target. It demands that aid focus better on the needs of poorer peoples. It must be spent on better health care and education, not tied to goods and services from the donor country.

There were several good media reports about the results of aid given to some countries affected by the tsunami disaster in December. For these countries to recover, the money must be spent within the region. We can see the sense in this but I do not understand how good practice in one place is not regarded as such in another. The campaign also seeks a more democratic World Bank and IMF so that not only will the concerns of people from poorer countries be addressed, but they will be acted upon.

The figures of the charity, Concern, highlight that 30,000 people a day die from starvation and poverty related deaths. This is not far short of 1 million people in one month. That figure is etched on our political history as the same number died in the dark days of the Famine. The only way to deal with this global catastrophe is to act collectively. The basis for such action is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948. One part of the preamble to the declaration states "whereas the people of the United Nations have in the charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life". I ask that we live up to that by committing to the 0.7% target of GNP.

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