Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent of the cut to Ireland's contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the impact of this cut on the prevention and treatment of disease in developing countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21850/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I very much regret the fact that the Government were obliged, in response to budgetary pressures, to make short term reductions in the development co-operation budget. This adjustment to the aid budget has necessitated some modification in planned expenditure across the programme consistent with the central priority of our aid programme – the reduction of global poverty and hunger in the poorest countries of the world, especially in Africa. We are determined, once the Irish economy has returned to a pattern of sustainable growth, that we will resume expansion of the aid programme. Notwithstanding the reductions in the development co-operation budget, Ireland will continue to spend over €100 million a year to address HIV and AIDS and other communicable diseases.

Our contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria will be €10 million in 2009. This is a reduction from the €17 million originally envisaged. However, total donor pledges to the Global Fund amount to US$19.2 billion, of which US$9.5 billion are for the three years 2008 to 2010. In this context the cut of €7 million represents only about one tenth of 1%, and will therefore not have any major negative impact on Global Fund operations. It should also be noted that, even with our reduced contribution, Ireland remains one of the world's top ten most generous nations in terms of Global Fund support in relation to GNP per capita.

Ireland will continue to play a key role in the Global Fund. In fact, engagement is set to increase as Ireland takes up the vice-chair of the influential Point Seven constituency of the Fund, with which comes an alternate seat on the Executive Board. In this position Ireland will use its comparative strength in relation to aid effectiveness to pursue improved efficiency in the use of funds, and thus the attainment of greater overall value for money and improved outcomes for the prevention and treatment of these three diseases.