FOREIGN AID:OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT aid faces a cut of more than €14 million in next week's budget, according to estimate figures contained in the White Paper on Receipts and Expenditure published by the Government today.
Aid agencies are bracing themselves for a reduction in the overseas development budget in line with a reduction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but hope the cut won't be so severe as to put the Government's aim of reaching the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2012 seriously off track.
According to the pre-budget White Paper, expected outturn in net expenditure for International Co-operation in 2008 was just over €767 million. The figure for 2009 is €752.9 million, representing a reduction of just over €14 million on the previous year.
Aid agencies are making their own calculations based on ESRI predictions and current spending on overseas development to weigh up how much the aid budget may be cut. One organisation calculated that the Department of Finance could cut the overseas development budget by €10-13 million without straying from the percentage required to stay on track for the 2012 target.
The expected outturn in net expenditure for the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2008 is €211.6 million. According to the White Paper estimates, in 2009 spending in Micheál Martin's department will be scaled back to just over €201 million. A spokesman said the department would wait until the budget on Tuesday before commenting.