Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste has asked me to take this matter. He thanks Deputy Mitchell for raising this very important issue and apologises that he cannot be here. He will monitor the debate and the Deputy's contribution.

The provision of reproductive health services, including family planning services, is essential in tackling the continuing high rates of maternal mortality in the developing world. The position Ireland takes on sexual and reproductive health is based on a firm commitment to the programme of actions agreed at the international conference on population and development, ICPD, in Cairo in 1994. The ICPD set out a number of principles on reproductive health issues including the importance of gender equality and the empowerment of women to reduce poverty and vulnerability; the right of all women to the information and means to make autonomous decisions about their fertility; and the link between women's control over their own fertility and the wider empowerment of women in economic, social and political life.

Ireland has a strong record of support for the provision of family planning services for women in developing countries, through our funding and our policy work at EU and global levels. We assist access to family planning services in countries where such services are considered inadequate, including in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Somalia. In 2011, as Deputy Mitchell is aware, Ireland spent €6.75 million on reproductive health services. At a global level in the past six years, Ireland has contributed more than €34 million to the reproductive, maternal health and family planning programmes of the United Nation's Population Fund, UNFPA, and is one of its top core funders. In addition to specific support for reproductive health services, we also invest heavily in building up national health systems to ensure the sustainability of all health services.

As the Deputy stated, the EU is also a major supporter of reproductive health services through its geographic support instruments and through thematic funding. For example, since 2007 the EU has allocated €580 million to health programmes including reproductive health programmes under its thematic programme Investing in People. The EU and its member states are the largest providers of development assistance in the world, providing more than 55% of global overseas development aid. This will remain the case under the next multi-annual financial framework, MFF. The Irish Presidency supports President Van Rompuy in his efforts to secure a deal on the MFF and we have sought to ensure that a fair proportion of the EU budget is allocated to development assistance. Ireland's EU Presidency comes at a crucial period for international development policy as discussions commence on the framework for global development after 2015, the target date for the millennium development goals. A key priority for Ireland's Presidency will be to ensure the EU adopts a strong coherent position and takes a lead in the discussions on the future of development policy and practice. As the international community opens discussions on the framework for global development after 2015, we will continue to highlight the MDG targets where least progress has been made, including maternal mortality.

On 15 and 16 April, the Government and the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice will convene in Dublin an international conference on hunger, nutrition and climate justice. The objective is to listen to and learn from the experiences of local people, particularly women, and to inspire innovative thinking and solutions to inform a new approach to addressing hunger, nutrition and climate change. Women are essential drivers of positive change in our fight against hunger, undernutrition and negative effects of climate change. They play a crucial role in tackling these major global challenges, not least because the majority of smallholder farmers in the developing world are women, but also because women have primary responsibility for producing and preparing food for their families and caring for children. Empowering women and strengthening their decision-making role at household level and giving women the same opportunities as men to boost their agricultural productivity to meet the food and nutritional needs of their families and adapt to climate change will be central to the conference discussions. The Government will continue to prioritise women's reproductive health and family planning and we will work closely with our EU, UN and other partners to ensure improved access to family planning services for women and girls is central to the post-2015 development agenda.

See this speech in context