Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

It is important to put that in context. I believe the tone of today's motion is somewhat self-congratulatory. Admittedly, the OECD report vindicates many of the positive aspects about Irish overseas development aid policy to date. That is a good thing but we are in danger of becoming complacent and failing to recognise the serious impact of recent cutbacks on our overseas development aid policy. In 2009, our overseas aid budget will be 0.48% of gross domestic product, GDP, which is a slip from last year when it was 0.58% of GDP. This causes great dismay among those who hoped we would achieve our target of 0.7% by 2012.

The OECD report contains two recommendations which we should take very seriously. The first is that the Government should refrain from further budgetary action to undermine our commitment to reaching our target by 2012. Second, the OECD made a series of recommendations on policy coherence.

Ireland's international reputation is closely bound up with our traditional positions on UN peacekeeping and overseas development aid. Our reputation is well earned. We have done important work. Our development non-governmental organisations and successive Irish Governments are to be highly commended on their contributions. On the back of those activities, we have built an international reputation and have earned international credibility amounting to very important capital. If we undermine this capital it will be our own loss. That reputation and credibility give us an influence internationally and within the European Union. If we were to make further cutbacks what credibility would we have? Could we argue for the retention of current levels of development aid if we are seen to have made cutbacks at the expense of people in the developing world rather than tackling other areas? Cutbacks are necessary but let us make them evenly and across the board.

It is important to look at our vision of Ireland's role within the European Union common foreign and security policy. There are many advantages to being a neutral country with a high international reputation. We want to be seen as champions of development aid and of a more enlightened and progressive policy towards the developing world where we can help to address problems, many of which were created by the developed world in the first place. Overseas aid is partly compensation for past actions. It is also intended to ensure poverty levels in the developing world do not lead to significant problems of migration and even more chronic levels of starvation and death. Climate change is very closely bound up with this issue. To maintain our credibility in this area we must hold the line now and avoid further budgetary cutbacks in this area.

The OECD raised a number of concerns regarding policy coherence. The report acknowledged that Ireland has made progress on policy coherence for development since the last OECD report but a number of concerns were identified. The report said Irish aid lacks the institutional capacity to conduct research and analyse policies for coherence or to trace policy coherence impacts once they have been identified. We must ensure cohesion in the following nexus of policy areas: trade, energy, finance, agriculture, fisheries, security and migration. What we do in one area can undermine another. For example, trading activities can completely undermine our overseas aid and climate change policies.

The report said our political commitment to policy development coherence has not yet translated into an integrated policy framework drawing consensus from the highest levels of Government as well as Parliament. It says there is no system of institutionalised reporting to Parliament on policy coherence development which would facilitate this process and that the relocation of Irish Aid to Limerick poses challenges in maintaining close linkages with other Departments, embassies, NGOs and other organisations based in Dublin. The report also says Ireland could do more in its priority countries, for example, by prioritising aid for trade to complement interventions made through Government and civil society.

I welcome the points made by the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, in his presentation. He speaks of greater efficiencies in our development organisations in the coming years. To what extent could institutional structures be put in place to achieve policy coherence as part of that efficiency drive?