Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. In the last paragraph of his speech he answered the first question I was about to ask. Why is this matter coming from the Department of Finance? Apparently it is because of our commitment to the World Bank and to the International Development Association. As the Minister of State is aware, in recent years much of our support to sponsoring countries we have helped in parts of Africa and other parts of the world has come through a separate budget, albeit through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the development agency therein. That there is some measure of international agreement on a new replenished fund is welcome. As I understand it the reason the fund is being replenished is that a certain percentage of the existing funds available will be given out by direct loans. That is a welcome development. The IDA requires an additional fund to top up its capacity to provide loans on a long-term basis on minimal rates of interest, if any, to the applicant countries.

Those of us who live in the northern hemisphere have a responsibility to share with those in the less privileged parts of the world. That in recent years we have managed to increase quite substantially the amount of funds available through our programmes here and through the EU to help countries in the Third World is welcome. We have not yet reached the UN GDP target but we are approaching it. Irrespective of good or bad times economically the amount of funds we make available year-in year-out to the Third World and to development relief is of paramount concern. It is a civilising notion that year-in year-out we should increase the percentage of our GDP contribution to the Third World. There should be agreement across party lines that this should be the priority every year irrespective of how difficult times may be here.

We welcome this measure. The House needs to give support to it to ensure the Government can make the additional €50 million available. During the period from now to 2008, will this money come out of our development aid budget or how will it be aggregated in terms of the Estimates? Perhaps the Minister of State can provide some information on that issue in the course of his reply.

As the Minister of State said much of this money will go directly to countries fighting the AIDS pandemic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Two years ago I had an opportunity to visit Uganda and see at close quarters the work of our embassy and of the donors and the NGOs in the field. One of the few countries in Africa that has made progress in recent years in stabilising the AIDS crisis is Uganda. Its government has been called into question. When he came Ireland some months ago, President Museveni was criticised by one of our agencies for his form of government. It is one of the few governments in Africa that has managed to make progress in this area. Rather than criticise the government, we should support it.

I was impressed to see Irish money being well spent in Uganda two years ago. I was informed by the ambassador on my arrival that Ireland is the third largest donor to Uganda. I asked if it was per head of population but he replied we were the largest donor in absolute terms. That a country the size of Ireland should be the third largest donor to a country of the size of Uganda, a former colony of Britain, is an amazing achievement. This justifies the position of various Governments in recent years in focusing our efforts on seven host countries which we support through our programmes. That is a better approach than having a small amount thinly spread throughout the entire African Continent and other developing countries.

I welcome the Bill. Perhaps the Minister of State will tell the House how the €50 million of development aid will be dealt with in the Estimates.