Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

First, I congratulate Deputy Ó Fearghaíl on his appointment as Fianna Fáil spokesperson on foreign affairs. We worked together very closely in the Joint Committee on Health and Children.

The Government's aid programme has always had broad cross-party and public support. It reflects our values as a people, and is central to Ireland's foreign policy. The aid programme has built on years of effort by courageous individual Irish people. It is now recognised internationally for its focus on the fight against global poverty and hunger and for its leadership in making aid more effective, especially in the poorest countries in Africa.

The Government is strongly committed to Ireland's development programme and to Ireland's role internationally in helping to achieve the millennium development goals. Our programme for Government states clearly our commitment to the 0.7% GNP target, and to seeking to achieve it by 2015. This is in line with the long-standing UN target for official development assistance and with the commitment of the European Union.

It is clear that, in current circumstances, this will be a challenging target to meet. However, the Government was elected to face up to the challenges of rebuilding our society and our economy and of restoring economic growth and our international reputation. I believe we can do this without undermining our work to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people.

The Irish people have always shown great generosity to those less fortunate than ourselves. In the current economic crisis, with pressure on domestic budgets and on international aid budgets, it is all the more important that our development programme, which is managed by Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs, focuses rigorously on delivering results for the poorest people. Over the coming year, we will review the 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid in order to ensure that Ireland can make the strongest possible collective contribution to the fight against global poverty and hunger.

As Minister of State responsible for development, I intend to visit a number of our programme countries in Africa over the coming months to see the difference Ireland's work is making to the lives of poor families and communities and to assess how we can strengthen our contribution, especially in the area of hunger and undernutrition.

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