Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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94. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide Ireland's policies on debt-restructuring for developing countries; his views on global debt justice; and if he discussed this topic with the UN General Secretary recently. [37612/14]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Ireland has played a strong role in international efforts to alleviate the unsustainable debt burden on some of the poorest countries.

We have been to the forefront of the work globally to build a consensus on the issue of debt cancellation for the least developed countries. This has resulted in the development of a strong international framework on debt cancellation for developing countries with debt sustainability problems. We can be proud that Ireland has contributed our full financial share to both the main elements of this debt relief framework, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).

In total, since 1996, Ireland has provided over €116 million for international debt cancellation initiatives. We have done so despite the fact that Ireland, unlike most international aid donors, has not been a bilateral creditor. Our development aid has always been untied and provided on grant terms, not as loans.

We have worked with our partners on the ground, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to help ensure that the additional money from debt relief has been spent on programmes that benefit the poor, especially through the support of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and support for anti-corruption efforts. Through Irish Aid, we are also contributing €100,000 annually to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for its technical assistance programme to help developing countries manage their debt sustainably.

Ireland is playing a prominent role at the UN on the negotiation of a new framework for international development to succeed the Millennium Development Goals, post-2015. When my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade met with the UN Secretary General in New York last week, they discussed our joint ambition for this new global development framework. Under the post-2015 process, the Third International Conference on Financing for Development will be held Addis Ababa in July 2015 and will consider debt and debt sustainability as well as other financing options for developing countries. Ireland will play our full role in working for the success of this crucially important meeting.