Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power, T.D., calls for greater Government cooperation to make Ireland’s overseas aid more effective

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Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power, T.D., calls for greater Government cooperation to make Ireland’s overseas aid more effective

"Government departments must work more closely to ensure that Ireland’s policies on world trade and climate change take account of their impact on the developing world," Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power TD, said today.

"Our financial assistance to the developing world is a key part of Ireland’s overseas development strategy. But it is also vitally important that we adopt a ‘whole-of Government’ approach, so that our domestic policies in areas including trade, the environment and agriculture support our long-term objective of eradicating poverty and hunger among the world’s poorest people," he said.

Minister Power was speaking at the Inter-Departmental Committee on Development today, which draws together representatives from across Government to assess the potential impact of Ireland’s policies on the developing world.

"In the light of the global economic crisis and its impact on the developing world, it is more important than ever that Ireland’s aid is delivered effectively and contributes to the sustainable development of our partner countries. An important part of this is ensuring that our domestic policies are viewed through the prism of how they could impact on the developing world. This is particularly important in relation to some of the major issues confronting the developing world including international trade talks, climate change and agriculture," he said.

"In June 2008, the OECD Ministerial Council adopted an important Declaration on Policy Coherence for Development which recognised that achieving poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals requires mutually supportive approaches across a wide range of policy areas."

"Ireland has an internationally-recognised aid programme, which focuses sharply on the reduction of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries. The OECD has described us as champions in making aid more effective and commended Ireland for our work internationally to ensure that the needs of developing countries are prioritised at the World Trade Organisation talks. We are committed to building on these achievements to become a leader in policy coherence. To achieve this we need to work together, strategically and proactively," he said.

Minister Power welcomed the publication of a report which examines how greater cooperation between Government Departments can have a positive impact on developing countries. The report by researchers from Trinity College Dublin, would inform the work of Government and ultimately strengthen Ireland’s role in making aid more effective, he said.

The Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS), Trinity College Dublin, is undertaking a four-year research project on policy coherence issues at the request of Irish Aid. The IIIS scoping study report – Policy Coherence for Development: the State of Play in Ireland – was completed in July 2009.

Note for editors:

Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) means working to ensure that the objectives and results of a government’s development policies are not undermined by other policies, which impact on developing countries. Where feasible, government policies should support development objectives.

The White Paper on Irish Aid published in 2006 adopts coherence as a key principle of Irish overseas aid and commits to a "coherent approach to development across all Government Departments". It also called for a "strong development perspective" to be integrated into Government decision-making in relevant areas and the establishment an Inter-Departmental Committee on Development. The Programme for Government 2007-2012 also undertakes "to adopt an integrated approach to development across all Government Departments".

The Inter-Departmental Committee on Development (IDCD) was established in April 2007 and serves as a forum for inter-departmental dialogue on the development implications of government policies and activities and on the opportunities for harnessing expertise and skills from across the public service to support Ireland’s ODA programme.

The report "Policy Coherence for Development: The State of Play in Ireland" can be found on the IDCD webpage http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/partners_irish.asp.

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22 July 2009

Press Office