Government commitment to increase aid sought

Aid agencies and social partners have joined forces in urging the Government to implement its commitments to increasing overseas aid. The agencies, supported by ICTU and IBEC, yesterday promised a "sustained campaign" until the Government agreed to increase overseas aid in line with its own targets.

The Departments of Foreign Affairs and Finance are currently locked in a pre-Estimates dispute about the level of aid for next year. The Minister of State with responsibility for development co-operation, Ms Liz O'Donnell, yesterday hinted she might resign over the dispute.

Initially, the Department of Finance was seeking to freeze aid levels, but it is now believed to be proposing an increase slightly above the 4 per cent limit in overall Government spending imposed by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.

However, because Ireland's gross national product grew by over 7.5 per cent this year, this would mean a decline in the percentage of GNP going to overseas aid. Internationally, aid spending is expressed as a proportion of GNP. And because Ireland is locked into future commitments to increase funding to international agencies such as the European Development Fund, the sums available for bilateral aid - agencies and missionaries - and voluntary contributions to bodies such as UNICEF could come under pressure.

Following a number of years of growth, the aid budget increased to 0.31 per cent of GNP - or £122 million - last year. However, earlier this week Ms O'Donnell admitted this year's allocation would drop to 0.29 per cent of GNP at the most. Next year's figure is expected to be the lowest in five years.

Concern, Trocaire, the auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Dr Eamonn Walsh, and representatives of other agencies yesterday held a press conference to call on the Government to keep moving towards its aid target of 0.45 per cent of GNP by the year 2002.

Mr Justin Kilcullen, director of Trocaire, said it was ironic that aid was being cut back when there were huge budget surpluses. "In the 1970s and 1980s, we were told we were too poor and we'd have to wait before the aid budget could be increased. Now we're being told we're too rich. How can we win?"