European Year of Development 2015

I am grateful to have this topical issue chosen today and I thank the Minister for coming into the Chamber to participate personally in the short debate.  I have just come from Dublin Castle, where the European Year of Development was launched at the Dóchas conference by the President.  I tabled this matter today to coincide with that event because I am conscious that often, when one has European years of this or that to highlight a particular issue, they are announced with a great splurge of publicity but then sink without trace and in many cases, that is the last one hears of them.  I am anxious, as I am sure is the Minister, that this would not be the fate of the European Year of Development but that the potential benefits of the designation would be maximised to enhance and promote the development agenda and to spread the word about development co-operation.

What the EU Foreign Affairs Council had in mind in designating this European Year of Development was that we would communicate to European citizenry what is happening in the area of development co-operation and identify needs and what has been achieved.  This is the first year a European Year has been designated to the celebration of something that goes beyond the borders of Europe.  We have always been a little bit more inward looking.  We now have an opportunity to highlight Europe’s role as a global player.  It certainly is a global player when it comes to development co-operation in that 50% of all world development aid comes from Europe.  Ireland has played its part and has been always a generous contributor in direct aid, through its NGOs and multilateral aid through the EU and UN.  If the generosity of the Irish people, through their support for development aid which has persisted even in the face of the very deepest domestic recession, is to continue it is important the they understand this generosity is not wasted and that money is being well spent and to good effect in the developing world.  Feedback is vital.

 I raise this issue today in part to highlight the importance of development aid but also to inquire of the Minister if there are plans this year to use this event to communicate to the Irish people the beneficial outcomes of their generosity, both as taxpayers and as direct contributors to our NGOs.  Like me, many people, including, I am sure, the Minister, have donated money to development aid, which when we were children was known as aid for the black babies.  There may be a perception that because this has been going on for so long it is a case of putting money into a black hole and nothing ever seems to get better.  That is far from being the case.  There is a good news story to tell and we should tell it.

 This year of development is chosen, as the Minister will be aware, to coincide with the deadline for the achievement of the millennium development goals.  One of the advantages of having goals, targets and indicators is that we can measure the progress that has been made, as well as identify what needs to be done.  Progress has been made.  There are now fewer people hungry in the world, the number of people now living in extreme poverty, as compared with the number in the 1990s has halved, more children, particularly girls, go to school and fewer women die in childbirth.  There is more to do.  It is important we use this opportunity to communicate the positive message that with a good plan, backed by funding, we can succeed.  In this way, we can engage public support for the achievement of the millennium development goals.

    Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Charles Flanagan): I thank Deputy Mitchell for raising this issue and allowing me to put on the record of the House the Government’s welcome of the designation of 2015 by the EU Foreign Affairs Council as European Year of Development.

 This year is a hugely important year for development as it coincides with important intergovernmental negotiations on development and climate change which will take place during the course of 2015.  Negotiations will conclude in September on a set of sustainable development goals, SDGs, to be adopted by a summit of world leaders at the UN in New York in the Autumn.  The goals will be negotiated and agreed by the world’s 193 countries and cover every area relevant to human well-being and development, including poverty and hunger, health and education, employment and environmental degradation.  Ireland is at the heart of this process, following its appointment as co-facilitator with Kenya on the intergovernmental negotiations to agree these goals.  This is testament to Ireland’s standing internationally, to our proud record of development, our promotion of human rights, our long-standing participation in peacekeeping across the world and to our diplomacy.  Our appointment reflects just how integral development is to our foreign policy.  Only last week, we published a review of our foreign policy, The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World.  This places a strong emphasis on our values as a people and our actions to build a fairer, more just, secure and sustainable world.  It recognises the centrality of our international development policy, One World, One Future and our aid programme, Irish Aid, in achieving this.

 We are confident that the new sustainable development goals will have a profound impact on the lives of the world’s poor.  These processes will also garner huge national and international attention and it is intended to use this to promote further the messages of global citizenship, solidarity and responsibility that are integral to the European Year of Development.  The European Year of Development aims to inform EU citizens about EU and member states’ development co-operation, encourage active interest and direct involvement of citizens in development issues and raise awareness of the benefits of EU development co-operation.  Ireland, along with all EU member states, will undertake key activities to support the European Year of Development.

 I acknowledge the long-standing programme of activity on the part of Deputy Mitchell through a number of organisations down through the years on this issue, and her record of raising it in this House and beyond.  The Deputy will be aware that Dóchas, the umbrella group for Irish development, humanitarian and global justice organisations, was nominated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to co-ordinate the Irish action plan for the European Year of Development, in recognition of the extremely close co-operation between our official aid programme and the NGO sector in Ireland.  In response to the Deputy’s direct question, funding has been made available for our national campaign in that regard.

 To launch the European Year of Development, a special conference was, as mentioned by Deputy Mitchell, held in Dublin Castle today.  The conference was opened by President Michael D. Higgins, who spoke of the need to develop a deeper understanding of global issues and development.  It also included excellent discussions and debate on sustainable development involving the Minister of State with responsibility for development, Deputy Sherlock, representatives from civil society, representatives of the African community in Ireland, the private sector and youth groups.  In its capacity as national co-ordinator, Dóchas will ensure key events during 2015, such as Africa Day and One World Week, include targeted activities to promote the European Year of Development, and engage with the public on issues of poverty, hunger, inequality and social justice.  In addition, my Department will continue to use our established methods of communication and public outreach to share the messages of the European Year of Development.  These include a very active online presence through the Irish Aid website and social media platforms, public outreach events such as Africa Day, the Ploughing Championships and BT Young Scientist and engaging with students, teachers and volunteers through our various workshops and volunteering fairs.

    Deputy Olivia Mitchell: I thank the Minister for his reply and the positive news that Dóchas is to drive the action plan for the year.  I again reiterate how important it is that we achieve ambitious post-millennium goals.  I know that our ambassador is playing a key role in this regard in terms of driving this deal forward and getting buy-in for it from world leaders.  I know also that the Minister will use his powers of persuasion at the European Council to ensure a strong and ambitious European input in this regard.

 The Minister will be aware that Brian Hayes, MEP, who is a member of the development committee in Europe, has suggested that now is the time to set a timeframe for achieving the 0.7% aid target.  I realise that our aspirations have to be set in context and that perhaps this is not the context for that particular figure.  However, perhaps we could use this year to discuss a timeframe for achieving it in the coming years.

 Important as money is – and it is important – development co-operation is about more than money.  It is about trade, what we buy and sell, investment, tax policies and, as mentioned by the Minister, climate change, some of which issues may be outside the direct remit of the Minister but fall within the remit of other Ministers.  I ask the Minister to use his persuasive powers at the Cabinet table to ensure that other Ministers buy into this year and use their voices at the European Council to ensure a strong European input across all the areas through which we interact with the developing world.

    Deputy Charles Flanagan: On the final issue raised by the Deputy, the matter is on the agenda for discussion at this week’s meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

It will continue to be accorded prominence on agendas for the forthcoming months.

 Regarding the post-2015 development goals, our ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. David Donoghue, will play a most prominent role by chairing the negotiations and discussions leading up to the announcement of the post-2015 plan, the target date for which is September 2015.

 Dóchas has been awarded €26,000 in support of its role as national co-ordinator of the Irish action plan for the European year, in addition to the sum of €113,000 received directly from the European Commission.  As per standard practice, Dóchas will report on the use of funds, including outlining a programme of activities, as well as the results of the work plan at the end of the project’s period.  Brian Hayes, MEP, has been appointed to the development committee of the European Parliament.  I wish him well in that regard and look forward to receiving reports from him in due course.

 The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme which is at the heart of our foreign policy.  This reaffirms our commitment to achieving the UN target of 0.7% of gross national product, GNP, to official development assistance, once economic circumstances permit.  Since coming into office and in the context of difficult economic circumstances, the Government has successfully stabilised official development assistance aid including the budget aid programme.  In budget 2015, the Government protected the aid budget providing for a total of allocation for overseas development aid of over €600 million.  This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the aid programme and represents a significant contribution on behalf of the people of Ireland to assist those in the world who are less fortunate than ourselves.