Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will commit to the points made in a declaration (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37310/08]

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 342: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will commit to the points made in a declaration (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37311/08]

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 343: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will commit to points made in a declaration (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37312/08]

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will commit to points made in a declaration (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37313/08]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 to 344, inclusive, together.

Ireland has played an important role internationally on the issue of alleviation of the debt burden on developing countries. Crucially, Ireland's bilateral assistance to the developing world has always been exclusively in the form of grants rather than loans. The Government has provided very significant resources for initiatives to ease or cancel the debt burden.

There are two main international instruments which address the problem of the debt burden, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The MDRI came into effect on 1 July 2006, and provides for cancellation of eligible debt from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund for many of the world's poorest and most indebted countries. The aim is to relieve these countries from the burden of servicing debt and assist them in making progress on the UN Millennium Development Goals, with the overall objective of halving global poverty by 2015.

Ireland's share of the total cost of debt relief provided by the World Bank under MDRI is €58.64 million. The Government contributed this amount in full in 2006. Ireland has also contributed over €20 million to the HIPC Initiative, which is implemented by the World Bank and the IMF, with the objective of reducing the debt burden of qualifying countries to sustainable levels.

Overall, the Government position is that we support the development of an international consensus on responsible lending and borrowing procedures and, in this regard, we welcome the dialogue which the World Bank has opened with civil society groups on the complex issues involved. Ireland will continue to adopt a progressive approach on the debt issue, which will be further addressed next month at the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Doha.