Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I welcome this debate. The support of Members for the aid programme has been well articulated, as has their concern about the cutbacks. It is important to put on the record how the crisis is affecting the poorest countries. It is the general view that the cutbacks in which the Government has engaged have been directed at an easy target because there are no votes involved. However, it is clear the people want to see support continue and the Government has their support to continue it.

The aid programme is one of which we should be proud and the work being done was praised in the OECD report. We should consider what the OECD said. It said Ireland was leading the way among EU states in the proportion of overseas aid spent on combating HIV and AIDS, for example. Having carried out an on-the-ground assessment of the Government's work in Uganda, the review team concluded that Ireland was a respected and influential donor with a strong reputation in the field. The report continued in that manner. Therefore, it is important we realise our aid programme is one of which Ireland can be proud.

The danger now is that much of the good work that has been done, the expertise built up and the effectiveness of the programme could be put at risk by the cutbacks. Tom Arnold, the chief executive of Concern, said:

To cut overseas aid on this scale is hugely disproportionate. We realise that the Irish Government finds itself with tough choices to make at home. However, this latest cut means that certain overseas projects - many of which are quite literally a matter of life or death - will be forced to close altogether or scaled down significantly. This will have significant serious humanitarian ramifications in the developing world. This comes at a time when the developed world needs to keep its aid promises to the poorest developing countries.

We know the effect of the financial crisis on people in Ireland. We know there is poverty here and that families are finding it difficult to cope. However, let us put it on the record how the crisis is affecting the poorest countries.

In 2008, the number of people suffering from hunger on a daily basis rose to a staggering 963 million, equivalent to one out of every seven people in the world. According to the World Bank, the combined food and fuel crisis has pushed an additional 130 million to 150 million people below the $1.25 a day poverty line. Thousands more children will die because of the effects of poverty. Therefore, there are serious ramifications to our cutbacks. The range of programmes affected by our cutbacks internationally are huge. They are life and death programmes.

It is right we should acknowledge that the Irish co-operation aid programme has been effective and internationally recognised. However, the Fianna Fáil motion is somewhat bizarre. It calls on us to celebrate this, while at the same time we are cutting back on the overseas programme. Reference was made to international accommodations for Irish overseas aid, but they were paid in advance of the harsh cutbacks. There is no doubt that the cutbacks are harsh and disproportionate. I ask the Minister of State to comment on the disproportionate effect of the cutbacks and the impact they will have. That is the key point.

The Government made a clear commitment to improving maternal health in its 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid. I would like to go into more detail on this if I had the time, because 536,000 women died as a result of complications in pregnancy and childbirth. I urge the Minister of State to maintain the commitment to that issue.