Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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459. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if consideration is provided to Government expenditure on military, and space exploration, technology, when allocating funding, provided through Irish Aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10396/15]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Irish Aid, the Government’s official aid programme, which is managed by my Department, works on behalf of the Irish people to address poverty and hunger in some of the poorest countries in the world. The Government’s policy on International Development, ‘One World, One Future’ published in 2013 clearly articulates our vision for a sustainable and just world and the priority areas of focus for the Irish Aid programme. The programme remains firmly focused on the reduction of poverty and hunger, on promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth in our partner countries in Africa, and on strengthening governance and accountability so that citizens can realise their rights.

We have ensured that all expenditure under the aid programme is in line with the guidelines developed by international donors at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on what can be classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA). These guidelines are essential in ensuring that aid is directed effectively at the eradication of poverty and hunger in the world. We do not provide support to areas such as military or space exploration under the aid programme. Such support would not fall under the objectives of the Irish Aid programme, and it would not be classified as ODA.

In taking decisions on the allocation of funding across the Irish Aid programme, we take account of a range of criteria, including the potential impact on poverty and hunger, alignment with our development policy priorities, assessment of risk and where Ireland can have most influence.

Ireland was commended last year in the peer review of our aid programme by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, which recognised that our “Official Development Assistance allocations provide an excellent reflection of Ireland’s policy priorities to fight hunger and poverty for vulnerable people, as well as its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and the least developed countries.”

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent)
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461. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding international negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10480/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the Third Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa in July is to agree the financing framework for the post-2015 agenda on sustainable development.

Ireland is currently co-facilitating the negotiations at the United Nations on the new framework for international development to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015. It is hoped that the new development agenda will be adopted at the Summit planned for New York in September. At the heart of this new global sustainable development framework will be a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which will complete the work of the MDGs in eradicating extreme poverty but which will put sustainable development at the core. The objective is that the SDGs will be universal in nature and address development challenges through social, environmental and economic actions in low, middle and high-income countries alike. They will address a wide range of areas including food and nutrition, water and sanitation, climate and biodiversity, production and consumption, trade and global governance structures, peace and governance, employment and economic growth, urbanisation and energy.

The Addis Conference therefore will seek to identify and unlock all the various financing sources, including, but not exclusively, aid, to implement the new SDGs. Its aim is to establish a durable and sustainable financial framework that will provide long-term support for the SDGs.

The Conference, will acknowledging the continuing importance of Official Development Aid (ODA) in contributing to sustainable development, and will aim for a more ambitious, broader and innovative approach to financing for development. It will examine the role of Middle Income Countries, and ways of mobilising domestic tax revenues, a rapidly-growing source of stable development finance. It will identify ways of creating an enabling environment to support private sector growth, both domestic and international, that is inclusive and sustainable. The potential for ODA to act as a catalytic agent for other innovative finance and investment will also be explored. Ultimately, this transformative agenda aims to form a global partnership to eradicate poverty and support sustainable development.

Ireland is actively engaged in these negotiations and is working closely at all levels with EU partners to agree a common EU position on the range of issues to be addressed at the Finance for Development Conference.

We believe the commitment to provide 0.7% of GNP for ODA remains extremely important. It is regarded as such by the developing countries which will participate in the Addis conference. Since coming to office in 2011, the Government’s aim has been to protect, as far as possible, allocations to for Ireland’s aid programme. Despite the very difficult economic circumstances we faced over this period, we have successfully managed to stabilise these allocations. For 2015, we have again protected the overall allocations to the aid programme, and have provided a total of just over €600 million for ODA. Significantly, this represents a small increase on the 2014 level. As our economic recovery consolidates and strengthens, I am determined to set out the strongest possible case for building further on our current commitment to the aid programme.

The OECD Development Assistance Committee’s peer review of Ireland, published last December, clearly recognises and commends our efforts to protect and stabilise the allocation for the aid programme, and describes as “exemplary” Ireland’s approach in managing the aid budget during the economic crisis. The most recent statistics published by the OECD, for 2013, place Ireland’s ODA at 0.46% of GNP. I believe this provides us with a strong and credible basis for the negotiations in Addis and on the post-2015 development framework.