Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 389: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government will set a new target date by which Ireland will reach an overseas development aid minimum of 0.7% of GNP; if he will put in place a multi-annual plan to reach this target; and if the Government will enshrine Ireland's commitment to the 0.7% of GNP overseas development aid target in legislation before the summer recess. [19817/05]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The allocation for 2005 provides for an increase of €70 million in Government spending on official development assistance this year. This will bring total Government aid to the developing world to approximately €545 million in 2005, the highest allocation in the 30-year history of the aid programme. In addition, the Government has agreed to provide further increases of €65 million in each of the years 2006 and 2007. These substantial increases mean that over the three years from 2005 to 2007, €1.8 billion will be spent by Ireland on development assistance. As a result, Ireland will maintain its position as one of the world's leading aid donors on a per capita basis. This three year multi-annual commitment, incorporating very substantial annual increases, gives my Department a sound basis to carry forward the long-term planning which is so important for development work.

The Government remains strongly committed to achieving the UN target for expenditure on official development assistance. The issue of how best to meet the target, and in what timeframe, is under continuous review. It is not intended that the commitment should be enshrined in legislation. The Department has recently launched a consultative process that will lead to a White Paper on development assistance and looks forward to receiving views from all interested groups and members of the public, including on the aid target dimension.

EU member states, as 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, came to an agreement at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 24 May 2005 on a new threshold for official development assistance 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 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; 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; member states which joined the EU after 2002 will strive to increase by 2015 their ODA-GNI to 0.33%.