Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes that then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, TD at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations committed Ireland to reach the UN target of 0.7% of Gross National Product devoted to overseas development aid by 2007, but did not fulfil that promise;

notes that then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, TD again committed Ireland to reach the UN target, this time by 2012, at a UN summit of world leaders in 2005;

notes that the White Paper on Irish Aid, describing the impact of Irish aid, stated that 'With Ireland's support, Tanzania has made major strides towards universal primary education. Net primary school enrolment rates have increased dramatically from 50% in the late 1990s to around 95% in 2005' and that 'With Ireland's support, a new welfare system has been put in place in Ethiopia which keeps hunger at bay for six million of the poorest people in that country each year';

notes the fiscal collapse experienced in Ireland in 2008 and 2009 and the resulting cuts in State expenditure imposed in 2008 and 2009;

notes that as Ireland's Overseas Development Aid budget is calculated as a percentage of Gross National Product, its cost to the taxpayer was already reducing substantially as Ireland's GNP reduced during the economic downturn being experienced;

regrets that Ireland's Overseas Development Aid budget was disproportionately targeted for cuts that reduced the incomes of Irish aid agencies by between 20 and 25%, far in excess of other aspects of the Irish State expenditure;

expresses alarm that Ireland's biggest development agency, Concern, has had to lay off 19 staff and pull out of three countries, while Goal has had to lay off 9 staff and to pull its team out of the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as reducing by 70% all water and sanitation, health and nutrition programmes in Niger, all due to cuts in Ireland's overseas aid budget;

reminds the Government in the words of then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, TD in the foreword of the White Paper on Irish Aid that 'Every day Ireland's official aid programme, Irish Aid, saves lives';

reminds the Government that its own White Paper on Irish Aid stated that 'The level of need in these countries is not comparable to anything in Ireland';

expresses extreme concern that the cuts imposed will cost lives of those reliant on Irish development aid;

urges the Government to re-state its commitment to reach the 0.7% of GNP devoted to overseas development aid by 2012;

endorses the call from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that the government 'refrain from further budgetary action that would undermine this commitment'; and

calls on the Government to begin reversing the cuts in the overseas aid budget in the 2010 budget."

I look at the self-congratulatory Fianna Fáil motion and am reminded that self-praise is no praise, but I suppose Fianna Fáil will take any praise it can get at the moment. The motion acknowledges and welcomes international endorsement of the Government's overseas aid programme. Ireland's overseas aid programme has been praised in the OECD report but, as usual, the Government is being economical with the truth. The aid programme the OECD praised has been savaged by the Government in the past year. The report also calls on the Government not to cut the budget for Irish Aid any further.

Of course the motion does not mention that. We could look in vain through statements issued by the Government on the OECD report to find any mention of that call. It is as if the Government only wants to highlight those sections of the report that praise Irish Aid without mentioning those negative sections that criticise the Government.

I will remind the House what the OECD said about the Government cutbacks to the overseas development aid budget. It urged the Government to refrain from further budgetary action that would undermine its commitment to achieving 0.7% of gross national product, GNP, devoted to Irish development aid by 2012. The OECD is also critical of the decision to move Irish Aid to Limerick, saying that it has resulted in a loss of knowledge and experience as key staff are unable to make the move and have therefore left the section entirely.

It is in many ways the very staff the Government's policies are driving out of Irish Aid, through the decentralisation of Irish Aid's headquarters, who are the unsung heroes of the report, about which we are speaking, but thanks to the Government, Irish Aid is losing them.

Our charities and non-governmental organisations are crucial to the success of Irish Aid. Those charities and NGOs are being devastated by the cuts in the Irish Aid budget which the Government has imposed. That is the reason Fine Gael has introduced a comprehensive amendment to the motion before the House. We acknowledge fully the economic and fiscal crisis facing the country. We in Fine Gael are aware that the decline in our gross national product means that the amount of money going to Irish Aid would automatically reduce as a result.

What concerns us greatly is the scale of the cuts imposed on Irish Aid. They are far more severe than those imposed elsewhere in Government expenditure. Our amendment reveals that Concern has had to lay off 19 staff and pull out of three countries, while GOAL had to lay off nine staff and pull its team out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as reducing by 70% all water and sanitation health and nutrition programmes in Niger, all due to the cuts in Irish overseas aid. Those Government cuts have made the problems they face much worse than they are. The cuts in Irish Aid are disproportionate and will hit the poorest, the most marginalised and the most in need of help.

We have not seen the end of the cuts. Notwithstanding the appeals of the OECD, I understand from various Irish charities that they are being warned privately to expect a further €100 million in cuts in Irish Aid in the next budget. I will be explicit. These cuts will cost lives. There are people alive today who will be dead by the end of the year directly because of the cuts the Government is imposing on Irish Aid.

Fine Gael believes that in facing up to the economic and fiscal crisis we should have a principle, some words to the effect that cutbacks should not cost lives. That should be our motto. That is the reason we opposed the abandonment of the vaccine for cervical cancer. That is the reason we have taken a stance on other issues and the reason we are critical of the Government's cutbacks on Irish Aid. We believe that the disproportionate cutbacks on Irish Aid will cause deaths that could have been preventable. That is the reason the Fine Gael amendment before the House criticises the disproportionate nature of the cutbacks. That is the reason we endorse the call by the OECD that the Government refrain from further budgetary action that would undermine the commitment to reach the target of 0.7% of GNP by 2012. That is the reason we in our amendment call on the Government to begin reversing the cuts in the overseas aid budget. We are not calling for their full and instant reversal but further steep cuts should not be applied to Irish Aid. Stating that may not win us votes and some may criticise us, but it is a stance based on principles and fundamental beliefs.

When the White Paper on Irish Aid was published, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, said bluntly: "Every day Ireland's official aid programme, Irish Aid, saves lives." We agree with that statement, but unfortunately life or death did not feature on the balance sheet when the Government was planning to slash the Irish Aid budget.

Because we believe the scale of the Irish Aid cutbacks were wrong, that they cost lives and that politics should be based on principles and not just expediency, we are taking a stand with our amendment. The Government's motion is a whitewash, one which simply highlights the positive while hiding the obvious criticisms that should be made.

The House must tell the truth on this issue. Ireland can be proud of its aid programme. It has been targeted for disproportionate cuts. The Government should, as urged by the OECD, stop any further cuts in Irish Aid and should begin the process of reversing the cuts in Irish Aid. I commend the Fine Gael amendment to the House.