Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 109: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if the failure to reform and democratise the World Bank and the detrimental impact of that institution's imposition of economic policies approved by Washington on developing countries is expected to influence decisions by his Department regarding contributions by Ireland to the World Bank's next development fund for poor nations. [29622/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The World Bank group comprises the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Together the IBRD and IDA provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries. The IFC promotes private sector investment by supporting high-risk sectors and countries, while the MIGA provides political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors in, and lenders to, developing countries. The ICSID settles investment disputes between foreign investors and their host countries.

The new President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, has begun a process to review the strategic direction of the Bank aimed at ensuring the world's poorest also share in the benefits of globalisation.

The IDA is the "soft" loan arm of the World Bank. It provides highly concessional financial resources to low-income countries to help them reduce poverty and achieve faster, more environmentally sustainable, broad based growth. It is the single largest source of concessional financial assistance to the world's poorest countries. The IDA provides both loans at zero interest with a 10-year grace period and maturities of 35 to 40 years and more recently grants.

These loans and grants are provided by donors, such as Ireland, and are financed by the Irish and other taxpayers, and by the return reflows from past loans. Conditions in relation to the provision of such loans and grants are always necessary to ensure that borrowers and grant recipients carry out the projects as intended and repay the funds loaned. This allows donors to be sure that the intended purposes of IDA actions are met and that, where relevant, the resources return to IDA for future reuse to assist poor countries.

Ireland participated at a meeting of the IDA 15 Replenishment Round which took place in the Grand Hotel in Malahide on 12th and 13th November. The Government remains committed to fully participating in the business of IDA and the business of other World Bank institutions to ensure that resources are made available to the poorest and least developed countries in an effective and timely manner.