The Government has decided to wait until next week before revealing its new target for reaching the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of GNP on overseas aid.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has confirmed that the Cabinet discussed the matter at its weekly meeting yesterday, but would not say what decision had been taken.
He said the Taoiseach would make a statement about Ireland's new target when he speaks at the UN Summit in New York next Wednesday. The summit is to discuss the progress made by member states towards reaching the targets set at the special millennium summit in 2000. The Taoiseach announced at that meeting that it would meet the UN target by 2007, but has since abandoned this commitment.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs has called on the Government to set 2010 as its target date. Most observers see this as the most optimistic target, and believe the Government could choose a target as late as 2015, the year set by the rest of the EU. Next week's summit will also consider the ambitious plan for UN reform drawn up by its secretary general Kofi Annan, although it is widely accepted that proposals to reform the UN Security Council will not be agreed.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, who has been acting as a special envoy for Mr Annan in promoting his plan in recent months, said yesterday he expected agreement on many but not all of the reform agenda items. While there was deadlock over Security Council reform, he expected agreement on the setting up of a new peace-building commission.