Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The issue I want to address today is Ireland's development aid policy, particularly because three international conferences are coming up between now and December. I acknowledge our aid programme and the work of Irish Aid and the NGOs and missionaries who work in very difficult circumstances and sometimes very dangerous situations. A recent report commissioned by Trócaire affirms Ireland's place as one of the best when it comes to aid because our age is untied. Increasingly this untied aid is coming under threat because donor countries now want to benefit. We are seeing aid flowing through the private sector in the form of procurement contracts for goods and services, the vast majority for firms from rich countries. We are seeing self-interested development. This indicates a need for greater policy coherence to prevent human rights abuses and corruption.

The three conferences will be held in Addis Ababa on financing for development, in New York on sustainable development goals and in Geneva on climate change. Ireland will participate in all three and play a particular role in preparing and co-facilitating one of them. The conference in Addis Ababa on financing for development must produce a clear and comprehensive agreement. My question is on Ireland's role at that conference. There is a need for a senior Government figure to attend. While it is not a pledging conference, will we recommit to honouring the 0.7% of GDP and how we will do this by 2020? We could then be a voice for this commitment from other countries. Will Ireland support the calls for an intergovernmental tax body under the auspices of the UN which could really tackle tax evasion, tax avoidance and illicit tax flows all of which contribute to poverty and inequality? What is being proposed by the OECD will not address these needs. It is vital that the conference in Addis Ababa gets it right and Ireland can play a strong role there. If it does not get it right the other two conferences on sustainable development goals and climate change will be meaningless.

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