The Government has signalled a basic continuity in its development co-operation policies with the publication of the annual report on Irish Aid for 1996. In a keynote speech, Ms Liz O'Donnell, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for Overseas Development Aid and Human Rights, underlined the commitment to continue the remarkable growth in the programme over the last four years, for which she paid deserved tribute to her predecessor, Ms Joan Burton. She emphasised that its main priorities, including poverty reduction, Africa and strong co-operation with non-governmental organisations and local ownership of aid projects, will continue. She also highlighted two special concerns of her own, human rights and accountability and efficacy of relief agencies.
This statement of intent will be welcomed by those directly involved in development and the wider public which values Irish policy in this area and its international dimension. Ms O'Donnell specifically mentioned the Government's commitment to reach an expenditure level of 0.45 per cent of GNP by 2002. Given the near threefold increase in the programme from 1993 to 1996, the rapid growth of GNP over these years (which is projected to continue in the years to come) it can readily be seen that this is a substantial commitment, which could see the figure double again in five years' time. Already, the Irish Aid budget outstrips that of the Department which administers it. The commitment will need to be sustained over a period in which growth and EU transfers may ease back and in which it may therefore become more difficult to win budgetary battles with the Department of Finance. In these circumstances, the Minister is quite correct to insist that accountability and efficacy must become more active principles in development policy. As she puts it, "people in developed countries - including Ireland - have a right to know that their money is being used to good effect". Her suggestion that a regulatory body should be set up to ensure that relief agencies and other charities operate according to agreed and supervised criteria is sensible and timely in this maturing policy area. The Minister has had something of a baptism of fire in this respect in her row with the aid agency, Goal, but she has come out of it with the principles of accountability and auditing intact. Her political skills were in evidence as the agency's leaders retracted their charges of political motivation in criticism of their accounting methods and pledged themselves to an "amicable and co-operative" dialogue on policy matters.
Irish development policy has been refined to target the poorest of the poor and to take full account of empowerment and local ownership of aid. There has been considerable success in influencing international organisations to readjust their policies towards such priorities, bolstered by the fact that virtually alone among the OECD states, Ireland's aid budgets have been increasing. Although Irish aid is not tied to the use of Irish products, there are many tangible and intangible benefits flowing from this enhanced commitment.