The State's spending on aid to the world's poor will more than double if legislation proposed by the Labour Party becomes law.
Under the Ireland Aid Bill, the Government would be required to spend on overseas aid 0.7 pence out of every pound of national wealth, or gross national product (GNP).
The party's spokesperson on overseas development assistance and human rights, Ms Joan Burton, said it was committed to enshrining the United Nations aid spending target in law "so that it cannot be reneged on".
The State's current overseas aid spending is 0.31 per cent of GNP. The United Nations target for aid spending is 0.7 per cent of GNP.
Launching the legislation yesterday, the party's leader, Mr Ruari Quinn, criticised the Government for "flouting its commitments to the developing world".
He said: "In opposition, Bertie Ahern pledged to increase overseas development aid to 0.45 per cent of GNP. However, in reality our ODA budget has effectively been frozen. This year our ODA budget stands at 0.31 per cent of GNP, the exact same level it was at when this Government came into office."
Mr Quinn said the Ireland Aid Bill would "effectively outlaw the backtracking and obfuscation that has been the hallmark of this Government's policy towards the developing world."
Ms Burton said: "There is no excuse whatsoever, as the 20th most developed country, for failing to deliver aid to the world's poorest peoples. "Nor is there any reality to the suggestion that we could not spend the money if we tried. Why not underwrite the education system of one of our priority countries, such as Lesotho, Tanzania or Zambia?"
The Government will spend an estimated £184 million in overseas aid this year, £6 million more than last year.
A party spokesman said he hoped the legislation would be put forward as a Private Member's Bill this year.
Meanwhile, three Irish parliamentarians who have just returned from Zambia and Uganda have urged the Government to fund projects to help tackle the AIDS "epidemic". The call came from Ms Mary Banotti MEP, Mr Eoin Ryan TD and Senator Mary Henry in advance of today's launch of the government's HIV/AIDS strategy for the Ireland Aid Programme.
Ms Banotti said the human, economic and social toll of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the two countries had set back development by 20 years.
"We believe the approach to AIDS has to be multi-sectoral and dealt with not just as a health issue but as a social, economic and health issue," she said.
Zambia and Uganda are among the priority countries for Irish aid.