Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government to meet the UN target of 0.7% of GDP assigned to overseas development aid by 2012. [34191/08]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give an assurance that, in view of budget 2009 which is pending, the Irish Aid budget will not suffer cuts and our commitments to the poorest of the poor will not be undercut. [34188/08]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 54 together.

The Programme for Government contains a clear commitment to the expansion of the Aid Programme. We have set a target of spending 0.7% of GNP on Official Development Assistance (ODA) by 2012.

For 2008 the Government has allocated approximately €900 million to ODA. The bulk of this funding — €769 million — comes under Vote 29, International Cooperation, which is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, through Irish Aid. A further estimated €130 million will be spent by other Government Departments and through Ireland's contribution to the EU Development Cooperation Budget.

Expenditure on ODA in 2008 will be the highest in the history of the programme. On current estimates, we expect it will represent 0.54 % of GNP. This level of spending will ensure that Ireland remains one of the most generous donors in the world.

The Government remains on course to meet the target of spending 0.7% of GNP on ODA by 2012. The Deputy will appreciate that all public expenditure allocations for 2009 are subject to decisions taken in the context of the Budget which the Minister for Finance will present to the House on 14 October.

The spending priorities for Irish Aid will remain as set out in the White Paper on Irish Aid, with a comprehensive focus on the reduction of poverty, in line with the Government's clear commitment to the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the initiatives in which his Department is involved in anti-poverty and land reform movements across Latin America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34202/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Irish Aid provides support to anti-poverty initiatives in Latin America, and elsewhere in the developing world, through a number of funding mechanisms. Total Government support to civil society in Latin America exceeded €16 million in 2007.

Through the Multi Annual Programme Scheme, (MAPS), Irish Aid has established a strategic and programmatic relationship with key Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partners. The Scheme ensures predictability of financial support for an agreed programme of development activity. Three organisations supported under MAPS — Trócaire, Christian Aid and Concern — implement programmes in Latin America amounting to some €6.59 million. The areas covered include governance, human rights, gender, mobilising for justice, sustainable livelihoods programmes, and HIV/AIDS.

In addition, through the Civil Society Fund, Irish Aid provides grants for smaller NGOs for projects contributing to poverty reduction. In Latin America, the Fund supports a range of NGOs working in areas with high levels of poverty. Priority sectors include human rights, education, health and HIV/AIDS, livelihood security, fair and ethical trade, and water and sanitation. In 2007, the Fund provided €6.98m in support of such NGO programmes in Latin America.

Irish missionaries carry out important development work in fifteen countries in Latin America. Irish Aid funding is administered through Misean Cara, which was established in 2004, taking over management of existing funding schemes for missionary development work. In 2007, Misean Cara allocated €2.44 million for development work in Latin America, focusing on basic education, primary health care, income generation, urban and rural community development and water and sanitation.

An additional €134,880 was allocated last year, through our Embassies in Latin America, for local Civil Society activities. Irish Aid has also provided support for organisations working on the protection and recuperation of indigenous land rights. This includes €110,379 towards a three-year year project in Colombia which has been successfully completed this year, and funding for a three-year project focusing on the protection of Mayan indigenous land rights in Guatemala.