Charlie McCreevy is off to Africa in the autumn - if he can find the time. DFA junior minister Liz O'Donnell, who has responsibility for overseas development, has been trying for some time to persuade the Minister for Finance to visit Ireland Aid projects in Africa, and now he has agreed, in principle, to go. It must, however, be fitted into his busy schedule and the run up to his December 5th budget, where any faux pas could mean ruination for FF in the election.
O'Donnell says it is not a lobbying exercise and she will not be looking for more money - that has already been agreed at £260m for this year. "It's really a thank-you and fact-finding trip so he can see where the money goes. It is only when you see the life-altering effects on the ground for these poor people that you realise how a little goes a long way. It is important for the Finance Minister who provides money for these programmes to see the huge impact even small amounts can have."
O'Donnell wants to take McCreevy to Tanzania, which is the only one of the six Ireland Aid projects she has not visited, and also possibly South Africa. But other locations, such as Ethopia, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Lesotho, would do just as well. She hopes it can all happen in the autumn. The Ireland Aid programme, she says, has grown from a low base of £40 million in 1992 and is set to reach £800 million in 2007, on which date we will be joining the small number of countries who have reached the UN target of giving 0.7 per cent of GNP. The status of Ireland Aid, built originally on missionary work is very high, O'Donnell says. Meanwhile, plans are going ahead for a trip to Irish missionaries in Kenya and Uganda by the President, Mrs McAleese at the end of October.