Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Clearly, those who subscribe to our ambitious targets for overseas development aid would prefer not to make adjustments through cuts and savings across the programme. However, it must be seen in the context of the wider Government decision. We must ensure that the programme is sustainable, that it has a solid foundation and is not built on sand and that when we reach our target of 0.7 %, and our ambition to reach that target remains in place, it is 0.7% of a robust, strong and thriving economy. Our development partners would not be served by granting them 0.7% of an economy in freefall. The Government decision must be seen in that context.

One cannot really compare the ODA budget to other budgets. In response to the use of the term "disproportionate", it should be noted that this budget is expressed as a proportion of GNP, unlike other budgets. There has been some ill-informed comment, although the Deputy has been an exception to that, about the way in which the figure is calculated. In making the adjustments last year the total ODA expenditure in Vote 29 increased from €870 million to €899 million. During that year we paid additional amounts in our contributions to multilateral agencies. That meant the net cut for the year was in fact only €15 million. While some people have characterised this as successive cuts, there was only a minimal cut in real terms and a significant increase in percentage terms last year. That is not to take away from the fact that €95 million is a substantial saving.

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