Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend the work Irish Aid does. Irish Aid's work is transformative and makes a life-changing difference to many of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. We should have more debates on Irish Aid in this House than we do. It has been a year since we last had a stand-alone debate on Irish Aid, which happened in April last year after the publication of a report on Irish Aid by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence. The Irish Aid programme is a pillar of Irish foreign policy. It needs to be discussed in depth. It needs to be adequately financed and should be supported through a whole-of-government approach.

I again reiterate my support for Ireland reaching the ODA target of 0.7% of GNI.

We must be accountable and transparent at all times. More could be done to educate the public about the fantastic work being done every day with taxpayers’ money through Irish Aid programmes and NGO programmes funded by Irish Aid. Irish Aid receives cross-party support in this House and is a good news story that we need to promote more. There is a great deal of work that needs to be done to raise public awareness. The report of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence greatly added to this important public debate on Irish Aid and overseas development assistance, ODA, in general.

These statements are timely in that they are being made following the launch of the Government’s new policy document, A Better World, as outlined by the Minister of State. The new policy brings a greater financial commitment to Irish Aid and a stronger focus on gender equality. However, much more could be done on climate action, business, human rights and support for refugees.

The world is facing an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises that have led to a global refugee crisis. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that 65 million people are displaced from their homes by war and conflict. I strongly welcome the support Irish Aid has provided for Palestinian refugees, as well as refugees from the war in Syria, but we all accept that we could do more. We need to increase the number of refugees we are resettling and relocating to Ireland. We can do this and also resolve the housing, health and cost of living crises in Ireland. That is an important message to send. It is not a question of either/or; we do not have to choose one or the other. We can deliver better public services and housing for Irish people and also improve our response to the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. We also need to end the disgraceful policy on direct provision, for which there is cross-party support, and set up a new asylum process in Ireland which will have human rights at its core. We need to oppose the continued EU funding of programmes which are forcing vulnerable refugees and migrants back to countries where they face possible torture and human rights abuses.

I am deeply concerned about the European Union's negative policies in dealing with the refugee crisis and the Government’s unqualified support for them. We had a lifesaving search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean. I commend the Naval Service on its work, but the Government has scrapped it and instead joined the EU military mission. That mission and the support for the Libyan coastguard which is abusing refugees, as well as financial support for detention centres in Libya where vulnerable refugees are suffering appalling abuse and human rights violations, are a massive violation of international law. Many of us in this House have heard at first hand information coming from these areas. It is appalling the way people are being treated in slave markets and so on in Libya. We cannot have statements on Irish Aid here and try to whitewash the violations of human rights and international law, of which the Government is part at EU level.

Climate change is already starting to increase the scale and severity of natural disasters which are also creating humanitarian crises. We saw this most recently when Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The United Nations called it one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere. It is the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world who feel the impact of natural disasters and they are the least to blame when it comes to climate change. We not only need more spending by Irish Aid to support those affected by natural disasters but also to reduce our carbon emissions, specifically in agriculture and transport, something the Government has failed to do so far.

About one third of the world's population - 2.5 billion people - live on less than $2.50 a day. On a positive note, the number living in extreme poverty has fallen dramatically during the past 20 years. That is to be welcomed, but it cannot be viewed in isolation as it masks a worrying trend. During the same period the development outcomes for different groups have been extremely uneven. However, the extremes between the haves and the have nots continues to widen. While it is welcome that the number living in extreme poverty has decreased, we need to be cognisant that we are also seeing growing inequalities across the globe. We can see it clearly in our own country. Oxfam estimates that just eight billionaires now own as much wealth as the bottom half of humanity. That is a stark reminder of the job we have to do to make the world a better and more equal place.

Ireland is recognised internationally as a leader in providing untied aid and it is essential that this policy be maintained. We should not place trade interests above human rights. We should not place business contracts above workers’ rights and not place geo-politics above the need for untied aid. However, we could do more. The Government needs to support a binding UN treaty on business and human rights. Corporations need to be held accountable for human rights violations. As I have said previously in this House, 90% of the coal burned in the Moneypoint power station comes from Colombia, the majority of it from the Cerrejón mine. The companies that operate that mine have destroyed the local environment and trampled on the human rights of the indigenous people who live in the area. When I met a leader of an indigenous women’s group in that area today, she outlined the abuses committed against her people, which are horrendous. While the Government has acknowledged the human rights abuses associated with the ESB’s supply chain, it has yet to take a formal stance on the issue. The Government has pledged to contribute €5.73 million to the Global Environment Facility, GEF, Trust Fund, to aid developing countries in responding to climate change, yet Ireland is directly sponsoring climate chaos, environmental destruction and human rights violations through its continued reliance on Colombian coal. Furthermore, although Ireland has contributed €3 million to an EU trust fund in support of the Colombian peace process, importing coal from there directly undermines solidarity with the process. A key component of the peace process is land rights. We have had the example of people being stripped of their land, children suffering malnutrition and being denied access to clear water. The 2016 Global Witness Report featured a case study on the indigenous Wayúu people in La Guajira who have experienced harassment and death threats as a direct result of their resistance to coal extraction practices at Cerrejón. Therefore, Ireland cannot stand firmly in support of the Colombian peace process while continuing to import coal, the extraction of which fractures Colombian communities and their way of life. Policy coherence across government is a basic requirement and critical to ensure all Departments will contribute and not undermine or harm Ireland’s sustainable development goal commitments. Buying this coal from Colombia shows that we do not have this policy coherence.

Additionally, as Oxfam pointed out, Ireland’s domestic approach to corporate taxation is clearly at odds with its development objectives. Long-term viable solutions to the problem of global poverty and the inequality that stems from it are being undermined by the scale of global corporate tax avoidance which drains much needed financial resources from low-income countries. We need to radically change our approach to harmful tax policies and corporate human rights abuses.

It is welcome that A Better World strongly signals that Ireland will take a proactive, rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health and work towards the fulfilment of sexual and reproductive health rights. A new initiative on sexual and reproductive health rights is promised. The need to focus on sexual and reproductive health rights in emergencies is also highlighted. These are all positive developments, but they can only be realised if additional funding is allocated. The global contraceptive funding gap has been made worse by the decisions of the Trump Administration to withdraw funding from the UNFPA and introduce devastating cuts to reproductive health programmes which USAID had long supported. There is an opportunity for Ireland to step into a leadership role as a funder and champion of sexual and reproductive health rights. We should take that opportunity.

I again commend Irish Aid on the fantastic work it does and indicate my backing for increased financial support for Irish Aid in order that we can meet our international targets. However, we need to examine the whole-of-government approach to sustainable development because we are clearly failing when it comes to refugees and the issues of migration, business and human rights and climate action.

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