John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the areas of the overseas aid budget that will be reduced as a result of the cut of €95 million in the budget for 2009; the amount of the reduction in each of the affected areas of the budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5343/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I have already set out, in my reply to the first question, the basis on which the Government acted last week in order to curb public expenditure. The decision to reduce the budget provided for overseas development assistance in 2009 was a difficult one, but it was necessary in the context of the extremely difficult economic situation the country now faces. The Government is acting now with only one motive, to provide the conditions for renewed economic growth. I have given a clear commitment that when economic circumstances permit, we will resume the expansion in our aid programme, which has been a significant feature of Government policy over the past decade.

It is important to recognise that, even with the reduction in our aid programme from the planned €891 million to €796 million, Ireland will again this year be the sixth most generous donor worldwide in per capita terms. We have a very strong aid programme, recognised internationally for providing untied aid, with a clear focus on the poorest people in the least developed countries. I assure the Deputy that we will maintain the standard of the programme and that we will continue to take a lead internationally on the most basic of issues facing the poorest people in the world, the global hunger crisis. Ireland's partnership with the developing world is making a real difference to the lives of people in 90 countries, and it will continue to do so.

The Government remains firmly committed to achieving the target of spending 0.7% of GNP on ODA. However, we have to face the reality that an exclusive focus on that target is not, in current circumstances, in the interests of our development partners, nor of the credibility of our aid programme. Even if we were to increase the percentage of our GNP allocated to ODA, in the context of a seriously contracting economy, we would simply be offering a proportionately larger slice of a rapidly shrinking cake.

The priorities of the aid programme in 2009 will remain as set out in the Government's 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid. We have not yet taken final decisions on how the budget adjustment of €95 million will be implemented across the aid programme. I do not underestimate the effect of such an adjustment.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

I can assure the House that the action we take in the coming weeks will be based on a rigorous analysis of the whole aid programme in order to ensure its effectiveness and value for money. This analysis, and the subsequent decisions which we will have to take, will ensure that we maintain the central priority of Ireland's development programme, which is to contribute to the reduction of global poverty and hunger, with a particular focus on the poorest people in the least developed countries.

John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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My question was similar to that of Deputy Higgins and the Minister of State's answer was also similar. I come at it somewhat differently, however. Unfortunately, the notion being put out by certain individuals that the Irish Aid budget, which was €800 million or €900 million is ending up in the pockets of corrupt officials has gained credence in Ireland. When one takes the €95 million cut recently, apart from the aid agencies and NGOs involved, there was not, unfortunately, a public outcry for the reason I have just mentioned and also because of where we find ourselves, economically.

The Government needs to make up its mind. If it is committed to what is left of the Irish Aid budget, it needs to do a better job convincing the public that the money that goes to Africa, in particular, is keeping people alive, and is well spent and of a critical nature. However, if it is planning to play it by ear, while holding out the option of further cuts, it should say so. I believe there is some slight ambiguity creeping into Government thinking when it comes to the Irish Aid budget, and there is no point in it denying that. The stark reality of what we have seen last week is a 10% pay cut for a nurse or a garda, for example. The reality is, however, that the €95 million cut will mean that people die. The question I asked was where the Minister of State was going to cut the €95 million from the overall budget and whether he can comment on the methodology involved.

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has mentioned corruption, which I must refute. Our overseas development assistance budget is peer reviewed internationally by the OECD. It is recognised as being of the highest quality and one of the most effective in the world. That characterisation of the budget is wrong. I will not spend more time on that, but I accept that in very difficult economic times it is very understandable that the public will be looking at all budgets and asking questions. That is why we need to maintain full public confidence in the programme.

I do not accept that ambiguity is setting in. If anything, we are being more definite about our ambitions. We want to achieve our ambitions, but we want to ensure that they are real, practical and realisable. There is no point in having false ambitions based on a foundation of sand. The ambitions must be clear, as the Taoiseach reiterated in September last year before the United Nations. We must say with conviction that we have to provide our programme based upon the reality of strong economic growth. If we continue to borrow, as we are doing, for development purposes, that is ultimately unsustainable and we preach sustainability in our aid programme throughout the world. However, to borrow continuously and to repay borrowing for development purposes is an unsustainable position.

John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State did not answer the question. Presumably when the decision was taken to cut €95 million from the Irish Aid budget, the people who made it were aware of the implications. Will the Minister of State outline where the €95 million will come from within the Irish Aid budget?

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot say at the moment. We can take either of two approaches to this. We can cut €95 million pro rata across the whole budget, affecting spending streams such as the bilateral aid programme, multilateral involvement, NGOs, civil society, etc. I am not disposed towards taking that type of blunt unsophisticated approach. We now have the opportunity to look at all our funding streams through the prism of a new focus on hunger and in that respect I cannot accept what the Deputy says with regard to people dying as a result of this initiative.

We are refocusing and reprioritising the overseas aid and development assistance to the poorest of the poor and those who are in real need. That is why, unique among European countries, we have identified hunger as the key development issue, and that is where we are prioritising our resources. People are not dying but we are relieving people out of endemic poverty and hunger.