asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when he expects the Government to achieve the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GNP being expended on overseas development aid; and if he will indicate the incremental increases which the Government propose to make to achieve this target.

16.

asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland has given a formal commitment to reach the United Nations overseas development aid target of 0.7 per cent of GNP by 1990; and, if so, the amount by which it is proposed to increase the level of overseas development aid moneys in the coming year.

17.

asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of money required for allocation in the 1981 Budget for overseas development aid in order to bring Ireland on target to meet the United Nations figure of 0.7 per cent of GNP for development aid.

: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16 and 17 together.

In my statement during the General Debate at the Thirty-fifth Session of the UN General Assembly on 30 September 1980 I re-affirmed our commitment to progressing towards the 0.7 per cent target for Official Development Assistance (ODA) as rapidly as our resources allow. Between 1977 and 1979, we doubled our allocation for ODA in absolute terms. I hope that more favourable economic circumstances will allow us to continue to significantly increase our ODA allocations in coming years so as to reach if possible the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNP by the end of this decade but we have not given a firm commitment in this regard. With regard to next year's allocation for ODA, the matter is under consideration at present.

: I do not wish to follow Deputy Kelly's description of the Minister for Foreign Affairs but am I right in assuming that the House has received a very diplomatic non-answer to these three specific questions and that we, as a nation, have absolutely no formal commitment to meeting this United Nations' aid in any foreseeable way or fashion?

: What I have given the Deputy is a formulation which was agreed upon at the recent meeting of the UN, when the overall international development strategy in regard to overseas development aid was devised and a formula reached by agreement, with acceptance of that formula by the Group of 77 who are the recipient countries in the UN. What I have spelled out to the Deputy is the formulation which has been agreed upon by the UN which will form the basis of a programme between donor and recipient countries throughout the next decade.

: Does the Minister not accept that the speech he gave to the UN on 30 September implied that, in fact, this country was progressing towards the .7 per cent target and that in fact, this is at variance with the facts because of the reduction in the percentage in the current year?

: There was a "best effort"—and I use that phrase in inverted commas—formulation devised by agreement amongst the donor and recipient countries as being the target for 1980. I might say that we are in excellent company, with far wealthier countries with a higher GNP——

: It is a league of shame.

: ——which are in that category as well. The 77 recipient countries were sensible enough to go along with this formulation. What has been agreed upon at this special conference—and it was a tremendous achievement to get this agreement within this meeting—was that there would be an agreement on all sides, by both donor and recipient countries that the "best effort" would be used to reach a formulation of achieving a certain percentage by 1980 and that only "best effort" would be the criterion involved and no other directive or ukase is involved in that. The .7 per cent target is the objective for all donor countries to achieve by the end of this decade.

: Can I take it then that the Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Government is formally renouncing the commitment given by his predecessor, Deputy O'Kennedy, when in opposition, in relation to meeting this target—that we are now promising merely to do our best instead of meeting the target?

: I would point out to the Deputy that this is a formulation reached unanimously in the United Nations by all the countries involved, donor and recipient.

: What does that mean?

: There is no reason for us to go further or less far than that. What I am saying is quite obvious.

: The Minister is trying to excuse his inertia.

: This was devised after weeks of intensive negotiation and discussion, when a sensible and achievable target was agreed upon between the donor and recipient countries.

: The .7 per cent would have been relevant 20 years ago.

: I am aware of the company in which the Minister has placed himself in relation to this matter. There are other right wing countries which have equally reneged on their commitments but are we and the recipient nations to understand now that the Fianna Fáil Government of which he is Minister for Foreign Affairs have gone back on the formal commitment given by a previous Fianna Fáil spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Deputy O'Kennedy, in relation to this matter?

: The Deputy will appreciate that this was an agreement, an agreed formulation reached at the United Nations.

: Would the Minister answer the Deputy's questions?

: This was agreed between all the countries involved having regard to the economic and financial circumstances existing in the world of today. A realistic assessment was made of the position and this target figure was arrived at.

: What target figure?

: There is no target.

: Accepting the fact that the .7 per cent target was agreed by the United Nations years and years ago, would the Minister answer a direct question? How does he suggest to this House that he was telling the whole truth to the UN when he spoke of this country being committed to progressing towards the .7 per cent target when, in the same year, he presided over a situation where the percentage was cut back?

: The percentage was increased by 12 per cent and we quadrupled our allocation over the past four years and doubled our allocation after that.

: The percentage was related to GNP.

: Would the Deputy ask a final supplementary question on this, please?