Overseas Development Aid
Mr. Gormley: The Government has broken the promise it made on behalf of Ireland to the world’s poor. We now know that rather than the 0.5% the Government promised only three weeks ago, on its own figures we will achieve only 0.43% by 2007, which is less than we were supposed to have achieved in 2002. At this rate Ireland will not reach the UN target of 0.7% until some time in the 2030s, far from the striking distance referred to by the Minister of State. In the meantime more than 8,000 people die of HIV-AIDS every day and millions go without an education. Ireland had the opportunity to lead the world in the fight against global poverty. We had the opportunity to be in the vanguard, pushing the world to achieve the millennium development goals by 2015. Now we are swiftly losing this opportunity.
While the first millennium development goal of achieving gender parity in primary education by 2005 will not be met and developing countries need an extra €50 billion of financing to reach the millennium development goals, this Government is busy reneging on its promises. The excuses that last year we were too poor and this year we are too rich just do not wash. The UN target was expressed as a percentage precisely to allow for lower or higher growth. Other countries, like Sweden, that have committed to and achieved the target have no problem understanding this principle. The Government itself signed up to the principle at a time of high growth so presumably it knew what the target meant in real terms, as was spelt out in the report of the Ireland Aid review committee.
Next September the UN will meet to look at progress in achieving the millennium development goals. Before the Taoiseach goes to New York, he should restore Ireland’s standing by putting in place a clear timetable for achieving the 0.7% target and supporting it with legislation in the Oireachtas.
The Taoiseach promised this on three separate occasions - I was there when he gave the commitment on 0.7% of GNP in Johannesburg. Is there anything we can do when a Minister or Taoiseach gives a promise like this? We can learn a lesson from our friends in Canada. Democracy Watch and the Government Ethics Coalition have called on all Canadian parties to introduce a law that makes it illegal for politicians and other public officials to lie and gives citizens an easy way to file a complaint with a new federal ethics commissioner. The legislation would give the commissioner the power to impose very high fines for lying. According to Mr. Duff Conacher, the co-ordinator of Democracy Watch, “Canadians are sick of politicians baiting voters with promises and then switching direction when they win power”. Mr Conacher should come to Ireland, where lying at election time is a given for many political parties. The promise on ODA, however, is a new low because the Taoiseach used the world’s poorest people as pawns in the Government’s bid to get a seat on the Security Council.
The Canadian idea has some merit. In Canada, if a corporation lies in its advertising, only six Canadians need to sign and send a letter to the Competition Bureau and it will investigate and determine how the corporation lied and what corrective measures are required. If any corporation or corporate executive lies to their shareholders, the shareholders have the right to go to court to seek compensation for the damage done by the lies. Again, this is not a bad idea when one considers the recent scandals at AIB Bank. I know the Taoiseach has explained that he did not get into politics for the money but if this proposed legislation was introduced here, he would certainly be declared bankrupt and would have to leave politics. This is a man who seems to promise, and unkinder souls may even say lie, with impunity.
Mr. Treacy: Outrageous.
Mr. Crawford: It is outrageous.
Mr. Gormley: The promises given on ODA and the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe show that this is a Government that simply cannot be trusted. This legislation is something that I hope the Green party will press for. It is in place in one Canadian state, British Columbia. Politicians in this country need to be held to account and I look forward to the day when legislation that can hold politicians to account and impose very heavy fines for breaking election promises is introduced.