THE GOVERNMENT remains on course to achieve its targets on overseas development spending despite a tightening of the public purse, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Power has said.
Mr Power reiterated the Government's commitment to meeting the UN target of allocating 0.7 per cent of GNP to overseas aid by 2012, three years ahead of the date set by the EU.
"Our budget is unique in that it is tied to GNP. We don't set real targets in terms of our budget - we tie it to percentage of GNP. This year our target was 0.54 per cent," said Mr Power.
"The key point is to reach our overarching target of 0.7 per cent by 2012."
The Minister made the comments as he launched the annual report of Irish Aid, the Government's overseas development division.
The report shows Ireland's official development assistance (ODA) reached €870 million last year. Of that sum, more than €200 million was allocated to development agencies and missionaries, most of which were based in Africa.
In 2007, Irish Aid provided more than €140 million to meet the needs of people affected by humanitarian crises in more than 45 countries. According to the report, this represents a 50 per cent increase from the previous year.
Mr Power said Ireland remained the sixth largest aid donor in the world in per capita terms. "It's hard work staying up there, but Ireland is at the cutting edge of international aid. It shows we are pushing out the boundaries,"
Pointing out that Ireland's total spending on development amounted to "the Irish taxpayer spending € 200 for each and every person in this country", the Minister stressed the importance of ensuring "public confidence and buy-in" when it comes to the work of Irish Aid.
"Part of my job as Minister for overseas development is to convey to people . . . that their money is having a real tangible effect on the ground. Once they become aware of the exceptionally good story of Irish Aid, we get public buy-in and confidence," Mr Power said.
"We could give hundreds and hundreds of examples, but the one we have identified today is that their money is going towards putting a Rapid Response Corps and initiative in place so we can respond immediately to disasters."
Established in February 2007, the Rapid Response Corps now comprises 52 volunteers trained to assist in international responses to disasters. In the past year, members have been deployed to Somalia, Sri Lanka and Mozambique. Last week, a logistics official was deployed to Georgia. Emergency relief supplies have been dispatched to Sudan, Pakistan, Peru, Mali and Uganda as part of the initiative.
Mr Power praised the systems in place to ensure the proper spending of Ireland's development budget. "We've got a lot of oversight, a lot of audit and evaluation," he said.
"I'm quite confident that our systems are very robust to track the money to make sure the Irish people know that it's being spent transparently but more importantly. It's being spent effectively."