John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of the new EU agreement, recently signed, which relates to the achievement of the UN target for overseas development aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18613/05]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the May 2005 agreement by EU foreign Ministers to reach the UN's goal of giving 0.7% of GNP in aid by 2015; the Irish position regarding this goal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18645/05]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason, in view of the recent commitment to achieving an aid level of 0.7% GDP by 2012, he has opposed the European Commission's recent proposal to increase the EU's overseas development aid to 0.7% of GDP by 2015. [13375/05]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 61, 88 and 156 together.

As I reported to the Joint Committee on European Affairs on 25 May 2005, EU member states came to an agreement at the General Affairs and External Relations Council, GAERC, on 24 May 2005 on a new threshold for official development assistance, ODA, for 2010 and 2015.

The elements of the Council's agreement are as follows: member states, which have not yet reached a level of 0.51% ODA-GNI undertake to reach, within their respective budget allocation processes, that level by 2010, while those that are already above that level undertake to sustain their efforts; member states, which have joined the EU after 2002, and that have not reached a level of 0.17% ODA-GNI, will strive to increase their ODA to reach, within their respective budget allocation processes, that level by 2010, while those that are already above that level undertake to sustain their efforts; and member states undertake to achieve the 0.7% ODA-GNI target by 2015 while those which have achieved that target commit themselves to remain above that target; and member states which joined the EU after 2002 will strive to increase by 2015 their ODA-GNI to 0.33%.

The Council's decision is part of the European Union's contribution to the preparation of the United Nations summit in September 2005 on the follow-up to the 2000 millennium declaration. The September 2005 summit is not only the first major progress review of the achievement of the millennium development goals, but is also a unique opportunity for the world to come together and agree on a collective response to the multiple needs, threats and challenges which we all face, ranging from extreme poverty, endemic disease and climate change to terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction, genocide and civil war. As the world's largest aid donor, the EU has a major role to play in the achievement of the millennium development goals and in providing strong leadership towards their implementation. Following the Council's landmark decision on 24 May 2005, I believe that the Union is clearly showing its intention to provide that leadership.

Far from having opposed the European Commission's proposals to increase ODA, I fully supported the proposals on this subject which were adopted by consensus at the meeting of the Council on 24 May.

On a national level, the Government remains strongly committed to achieving the UN target of 0.7% ODA-GNI for expenditure on ODA. The issue of how best to meet the target, and in what timeframe, is under ongoing review.