Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the percentage of foreign aid supplied by Ireland to beneficiary countries reserved for spending on Irish produce; if he will explore the possibility of benefiting countries spending a certain percentage of the foreign aid from Ireland on Irish produce. [28088/14]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The Government’s policy for international development, One World One Future, which was launched last year, confirms Ireland’s commitment to maintaining a high quality aid programme, firmly focused on reducing poverty and hunger in least developed countries and ensuring the people of those countries can realise their rights and potential. The policy also reaffirms our commitment to providing “aid that is not conditional on procurement of goods and services from Ireland”. All of Ireland’s aid to developing countries is 100 per cent untied. The principle of untied aid is a core feature of the work to make aid effective, and Ireland’s policy and performance have been recognised internationally, including by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Development assistance is most effective when it supports the objectives that people, communities and Governments set themselves as priorities for national development and the fight to end poverty and hunger. Delivering development assistance as untied aid to developing countries is the best way to ensure that poor countries gain control over their own destiny and that all development resources, both external and internal, can be used coherently and provide the best value for money. Evidence has shown that the “tying” of aid can increase the costs of development projects by as much as 15-30%.

While the Government remains committed to ensuring that Ireland’s official aid is fully untied, we are determined to explore synergies between our aid programme and sectors where Irish companies have particular expertise or comparative advantage. Irish companies can, of course, bid on Irish Aid funded projects as part of international competitive bidding processes. Through our Embassies in our partner countries, we work to identify areas where cooperation between Irish Aid and Irish industry can yield benefits for our development partners. This approach is central to my Department’s Africa Strategy which seeks to expand our ties with African countries, developing relationships that include strengthened trade, investment, and people-to-people links.