Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 237: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which the various poorer countries have received aid through debt write off or direct aid in the context of the World Trade Organisation or otherwise; when it is expected that the entire proposals will be achieved in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4189/08]

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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There are two main international instruments which address the problem of the debt burden in the developing world, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).

The HIPC Initiative, which was launched in 1996 and strengthened and enhanced in 1999, seeks to reduce the debt burden of qualifying countries to sustainable levels but does not entail cancellation. Progress on the implementation of HIPC is slow but positive and to date debt reduction packages have been approved for 32 countries, 26 of them in Africa, providing US$46 billion in debt-service relief. Nine additional countries are eligible for relief under HIPC but have not yet reached their decision points. Ireland has contributed €30m towards the cost of implementing HIPC.

The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), agreed by the G8 Countries at Gleneagles in July 2005 and which came into effect on 1 July 2006, provides for 100% relief on eligible debt from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund to many of the poorest and most indebted countries in the World. Most of these countries are in Africa. The initiative is intended to help them advance toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are focused on halving poverty by 2015 by freeing up resources that would otherwise have been used to service their debt burden.

All countries that reach the completion point under HIPC, and those with per capita income below US$380 and outstanding debt to the three institutions at end-2004, are eligible for the MDRI. The total cost of implementing MDRI is estimated at US$47.9 billion and to date 25 countries have benefited from relief at a cost of approximately $37.6 billion.

Ireland's share of the total cost of the MDRI debt relief to be provided by the World Bank is €58.6m. As a gesture of support and to underline our strong commitment to 100% debt relief for the poorest countries, this amount has already been paid over in full.