Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 150: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the interconnection between issues of aid trade and debt, he will sympathetically respond to requests for basic funding of the debt and development coalition and the Latin American solidarity campaign, to enable them to stay in existence and do their work of advocacy. [7148/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of debt relief and aid for trade are both important elements in the fight against global poverty. All of Ireland's assistance to developing countries is in the form of grants rather than loans. Ireland has played a significant role in multilateral initiatives to relieve the burden of debt on developing countries, and through the aid programme, the Government also provides assistance to help developing countries to benefit from the global trading system.

I recognise the contribution to the debate on these issues which is made by a number of Irish Non-Governmental Organisations, including Debt and Development Coalition Ireland and the Latin America Solidarity Centre. The Government's aid programme, managed by Irish Aid, does not provide support for the core running costs of these organisations or for political campaigning and advocacy work. However, limited resources have been provided to support participation in international conferences. This allowed Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, for instance, to attend a major European conference of the network of debt organisations last year.

In addition, both the Debt and Development Coalition and the Latin America Solidarity Centre have benefited from significant support under Irish Aid's development education funding scheme in recent years.

The Debt and Development Coalition has received annual funding under the scheme for a number of years, most recently in 2008 when funding of more than €79,000 was provided. The organisation was unable to apply for a grant in the second half of 2009 as only one funding round was held, due to budgetary constraints. However, I understand that an application has been received from the organisation for the 2010 round of Irish Aid development education grants. The application will be considered in the normal manner.

The Latin America Solidarity Centre is currently receiving multi-annual funding from Irish Aid totalling €271,000 for the three years up to March 2012. This support is for a comprehensive education programme which focuses on social justice and food security, and which includes an exploration of themes relating to international debt and to trade practices in agriculture.