Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him well in his new position. While I am the sort of politician who acknowledges positive Government action, I must make my feelings known if it does anything which is not advantageous. In 2000, the Government decided to allocate 0.7% of GNP to overseas development aid by 2007, which is only two years away. The promise was made before the international community in the United Nations and was something of which I was very proud. I was a member of Roscommon County Council at the time and felt the commitment was a great gesture. Ireland was leading the way in development aid for countries and people who were not in the same position as us. Over the past five years, Ireland's resources have increased enormously but poor progress has been made and the Government has now acknowledged the target will not be met. While a target of 0.5% of GNP may be reached by 2007, the Government has failed to set a new deadline by which to achieve the 0.7% figure.

While I accept that it is very difficult to calculate a percentage of the GNP of any country, if people cannot reach a target, they must stand up and admit as much. Instead, we have histrionics and people have felt the need to put a spin on the issue to give people a soft landing. The result is that I am confused about whether the target of 0.7% of GNP will be met by 2007.

Despite what I have heard in the debate as it has proceeded back and forth in the House, I do not believe the target will be met. Perhaps it is simply politics, but there is no need to spin the issue to give us an easier landing. I was surprised to hear a Fianna Fáil Deputy say he was surprised and embarrassed by an Opposition party's campaign to highlight the Taoiseach's decision to renege on the target. The cat was let out of the bag about the extent to which the Government was reneging.

A great deal of good work has been done and I highlighted in the Chamber less than a month ago the number of Irish overseas agencies. I realised how many there were only as a result of the Asian tsunami disaster. I was also somewhat confused about the work of bodies such as GOAL, Concern and Trócaire. While overseas development provision is generous, though not as generous as we would like, it may be time to consider value for money in the context of these agencies. While these agencies do great work, it may be time to consider greater regulation.

From talking to people in the field, including a friend of mine who was in Ethiopia, I understand the Red Cross is a very professional outfit with international recognition. Without saying money should be diverted to it, I am told the Red Cross has the resources in place to carry out serious work and utilise properly the money it spends. After people have been so generous and the agencies have been so committed and professional about securing funding, perhaps it is time to address the matter. Is there a structure in place under which these agencies can liaise and work together more efficiently to obtain the best value for money given that 0.7% of GNP is a significant amount? If the Government intends to meet the target, perhaps it is time to bring all the aid agencies together to improve co-operation and progress. I do not cast aspersions on the excellent work being undertaken.

The Christian Aid policy officer, Mr. Oisín Coghlan, stated it took the Government four years to break its promise to reach the UN target of 0.7% by 2007 but it only took two weeks for it to break the new promise to achieve a reduced level of 0.5% of GNP and while breaking one promise is unfortunate, breaking two seems like carelessness.

If the ODA allocation were based on the GNP of the previous year, it would be simpler but I do not know whether that has been taken into account. It would remove doubt regarding the financial outlay each year. For example, the ODA allocation for 2008 should be based on the GNP of 2007 and so on. The Minister of State's commitment was solemn and from the heart. I acknowledge that one can make a promise with the best will in the world but sometimes circumstances change. However, I appreciate it when somebody is up-front about whether a promise can be kept. Politically, it is not the way to do business but it could eliminate much of the spin.

Fine Gael published a policy document, which advocated the introduction of legislation to ensure Ireland met an interim aid target of 0.45% of GNP by 2002 and increased its allocation by 0.05% a year until 2007. This would have been a measured approach. We come to the House and think we have problems but the Minister of State has witnessed first-hand the serious problems that must be addressed around the world. There was a major famine in Ethiopia 21 years ago but this year another famine has occurred, although a warning system is in place whereby such difficulties are recognised much earlier. That is the result of various agencies working together.

I wish the Minister of State well in his work and I am sure he will do everything to ensure Ireland meets the UN target.