Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

We share the concern expressed in the OECD report to the effect that these targets are more difficult to make in the current environment. We want to meet these targets and it is our ambition to do so. We have a goal towards which we are working. The question that arises relates to the precise mechanism to be used and the path to be followed in order that we might meet our aid commitments.

The mechanism put forward by Mr. Gay Mitchell, MEP, would have to be considered in the context of any particular Government programme. If we were to apply it to a wide range of Government Departments, there would be complete inflexibility regarding the way in which we deliver our spending programmes throughout the year. In effect, the Government would be running on autopilot and there would be no need for Question Time because we would have locked ourselves into an exact growth path. In order to meet the targets to which we have committed ourselves, which are referred to in the OECD report, we must ensure that our public finances are sustainable and that we provide the conditions for economic growth. These are an absolute prerequisite to expanding the aid programme again. In the absence of sustainable public finances and suitable conditions for economic growth, one could not - even if they were enshrined in legislation - reach one's targets.

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