Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

In regard to the second part of my question, is the Minister of State concerned that in those countries where the neoliberal model of economic transition is being imposed through the IMF and through some conditions attached to the World Bank, some of the most significant and disturbing failures in regard to achieving the world millennium development goals have arisen? For example, 40% of the world's underweight children are in India which reports a high economic growth rate. There is a contradiction between reported high growth and reported increase in the problem regarding any one of the three indicators of child mortality, underweight children and children who are generally deprived.

Is the Minister of State concerned that in Africa, for example, 38 out of 42 countries are on track to miss the millennium development goals on child malnutrition; 27 are off track to reduce the proportion of people who are calorie deficient. Maybe in the course of transmission from my office there is a misprint in my question where India is described as being in 94th place of 118 countries. The correct figure is 24th place. However, it gives one an idea that out of 118 countries in 2004 ranked in terms of crucial indicators all the evidence is that the millennium development goals will be missed. The point on which I wish to press the Minister of State is as follows. Given the contradiction that the single model being proposed — the neoliberal model of a just economy — is yielding a failure to achieve the millennium development goals, will a section in the Department study alternative economic models that might be more inclusive and go farther towards achieving the millennium development goals or will the Irish Aid programme have no research of this kind? There is not much evidence of it yet.

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