Time to back up Ireland s new Policy for International Development

Transcription

1 Budget 2014 Submission to Minister for Finance Time to back up Ireland s new Policy for International Development We cannot allow an economic crisis, caused by speculation and unregulated markets... that operated in an ethical vacuum, to stall the progress of humanity ensuring that one billion global citizens remain consigned to lives of relentless hardship and hunger. President Michael D. Higgins, Dublin, 24 June 2013 July 2013

2 SUMMARY Ireland s Policy for International Development requires strong support in the Budget for ODA spending Ireland has a long record of international development cooperation supporting the needs and rights of the world s poor. It has built a highly-regarded development programme, and has been particularly successful in championing certain causes, such as tackling the challenges of HIV, AIDS, hunger and malnutrition, at a global level. In launching its framework document One World, One Future: Ireland s Policy for International Development in May 2013, the Government formally and deliberately recommitted Ireland to international development and to achieving the UN s 0.7% target on aid spending. It did so, mindful of the fact that shortfalls on donor aid commitments are undermining progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on which a critical last push is required until Dóchas members point out that the UN target was set as a percentage of national income precisely because it is an indicator of relative commitment: Attainment of the target is not easier, or harder, when the economy grows. This in-built mechanism is about ensuring fairness. Given six consecutive rounds of Budget cuts to ODA since the onset of the economic crisis, amounting to over 32%, Budget 2014 needs to demonstrate in practical terms the degree of Ireland s stated commitment to international development and to achieving the 0.7% ODA/GNI target. The 51 members of Dóchas are joined by countless NGOs and civil society organisations in Ireland, underscoring that Budget 2014 should be guided by the principle of protecting the needs of the vulnerable both at home and overseas. The Government s new Policy for Development Cooperation envisions a sustainable and just world, where people are empowered to overcome poverty and hunger. A clear step needed to realise this vision is for Ireland to quantify the steps the country will take to resource the key commitments of the new Development Policy, achieve the 0.7% ODA/GNI target, and strongly support achievement of the MDGs to halve extreme poverty and end hunger. Ireland s development policy is widely supported. Public pride in our aid programme is reflected in opinion polls which continue to show overwhelming support for the government delivering on its aid promises. In 2012, with Ireland in deep economic difficulty, Ipsos MRBI poll data showed that 82% of respondents still supported Ireland achieving its 0.7% aid promise by A similar poll in 2013 showed that support had dropped marginally, to 77%, meaning that nearly 4 out of every 5 people in Ireland want the Government to deliver on its aid promise. 2

3 For the first time since 2000, Ireland lacks a clear deadline for the achievement of the ODA target. Yet Government policy and public opinion expect us to deliver on this key element of Ireland s foreign policy. Budget 2014 is an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the target, and to the importance of the Government s new Policy for International Development. Dóchas members urge that the Government, in formulating Budget 2014, must: 1. At a minimum, consolidate the ODA spending at 0.5%, thus stabilising the aid budget and allowing for clearly signposted increments to 0.7% in the near term, in line with our international commitments to reaching the UN target and supporting achievement of the MDGs; 2. Restore the multi-year funding agreement for ODA, as recommended by the OECD, and publish a medium-term forward spending plan illustrating how and by when Ireland intends to reach the 0.7% target, in line with its new Policy and its international commitment to support the MDGs; 3. Ensure enhanced predictability, transparency and accountability for Ireland s performance on reaching its financial commitments within ODA, including any multi-annual elements, with regard to bilateral aid, multilateral aid, and tackling global hunger. 3

4 BACKGROUND Ireland has an international development programme primarily because it is the right thing to do. The Constitution affirms Ireland s commitment to the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation among nations, founded on international justice and morality and Ireland s development programme is central to its foreign policy efforts to make good on that commitment and to support all efforts towards a just and fair world. It is an agreed responsibility of the Irish state, established by our shared humanity and reflected in the UN commitment on Official Development Assistance (ODA), that Ireland and other developed countries should help those people in the world who are in greatest need. In July 2013, an IPSOS/MRBI poll found that 77% of respondents supported Ireland keeping its aid promise of 0.7% by 2015 a figure largely in line with similar surveys in previous years. Ireland s humanitarian aid and development cooperation programme is the practical expression of Ireland s vision for sustainable human development as set out in Ireland s Policy for International Development, which is of a sustainable and just world, where people are empowered to overcome poverty and hunger, and fully realise their rights and potential. Opinion polls consistently show strong public support for Ireland offering effective support for poor people in developing countries and those affected by humanitarian crises. In July 2013, an IPSOS/MRBI poll found that 77% of respondents supported Ireland keeping its aid promise of 0.7% by 2015 a figure largely in line with similar surveys in previous years. There is also strong cross-party support for sustaining Ireland s international development programme, despite the current economic difficulties. Development cooperation lies at the heart of Ireland s foreign policy, so that the three Irish development goals (see panel) are central to Ireland s strategic interests on the world stage: political, diplomatic and economic. That being the case, they should be vigorously pursued with a predictable and sufficient resource allocation to provide for their achievement. 3 goals of Irish development cooperation the heart of Irish foreign policy Reduced hunger, stronger resilience Sustainable development, inclusive economic growth Better governance, human rights and accountability 4

5 Ireland s new policy for International Development affirms Ireland s commitment to international development and the centrality of international development cooperation to Irish foreign policy not only in terms of our values, but also in terms of our economic and trading interest. An Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore TD, May ) Development cooperation gives Ireland visibility and influence Ireland s international development programme is highly respected internationally, and is ensuring a better life with improved prospects for countless people in developing countries notably Ireland s partner countries. The latest OECD/DAC Peer Review of Ireland (2009) spoke of a strong, cutting-edge development programme, well-focused on the world s poorest people, and described Ireland as a genuine partner, a champion at making aid more effective, and expert at leveraging its international standing to push for a fairer deal for poorer people and countries. In the 2011 international Quality of ODA assessment of 31 donors by the Centre for Global Development, Ireland was one of just three that ranked among the top 10 performers in all four dimensions of aid quality: maintaining efficiency; fostering local institutions; reducing the administrative burden on recipient countries; transparency and learning). As the Government s new Policy for International Development has pointed out: We are noted internationally as a leader in the delivery of quality aid. Ireland is also committed to pursuing greater policy coherence for development at national, EU and international levels. This has the potential to leverage gains for developing countries much greater than aid can support, through progressive legislation, regulation, policies and practices on issues like taxation, illicit financial flows and capital flight, fair trade, decent employment and ethical investment. 2) Good Quality Aid Works for developing countries and Ireland The evidence shows that, where delivered effectively, in smart and harmonised ways, aid works, reducing poverty, inequality and hunger. In Tanzania, with Ireland s help, infant mortality fell some 30% between 2006 and In Uganda, children s completion rate for primary school has jumped 10% in the last two years. In Malawi, the number of households with insufficient food fell by 20%. Important progress has also been made on many of the Millennium Development Goals agreed to by world leaders in 2000, particularly with regard to halving extreme 5

6 poverty, ensuring access to safe drinking water, reducing malnutrition, youth and maternal mortality rates, and increasing primary school enrolment rates. ODA not only benefits Ireland s bilateral and regional relations and its politicaldiplomatic ambitions on the world stage, it represents long-term, strategic investment in regions of the world that hold the promise of strong future growth and mutually beneficial trading relations. This generation has the means and tools to end extreme poverty. The question is, does it have the will? Joe Costello TD, Minister of State for Trade and Development, June 2013 Recent research by the highly-respected Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on the effects of EU aid on giving and receiving countries concluded that, under a reasonable set of assumptions, effective channelling of development assistance can offer a modest net boost to European and global GDP levels, with much stronger benefits accruing to the aid recipient regions. Modelling the effects of EU-level development assistance on receiving and sending countries, the ODI s research team concluded that EU aid is an investment benefitting poor countries, the world generally and the EU as a sender of aid in particular. 1 Strong economic growth, a rising middle class, democratic consolidation and enormous natural resources make Africa an important emerging economic region. By 2018, five of the world s fastest growing economies will be in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the IMF. The Irish government s Africa Strategy and the Ireland s Policy for International Development make clear that mutually beneficial investment, trade, energy and green technology initiatives are important to Ireland on the continent, as well as development and humanitarian objectives. The Public Accounts Committee report on Irish Aid in March 2013 illustrated Reducing [overseas] assistance, whether official or that, despite the economic difficulties private, in the short-term may prove myopic and Ireland has faced at home in recent counter-productive when the bigger, longer-term years (and challenges in ensuring picture of the changing world economic order transparency and accountability of suggests otherwise. development spending), Ireland s PMCA Economic Commentaries, May 2013 commitment to some of the poorest people on the planet is helping Mozambique, for example, to unleash its enormous potential. As countries like Mozambique grow, the Committee noted, their dependency on aid should be replaced by the growth in trade that will transform some of these developing nations into emerging economies or middle income countries Ireland s diplomatic and trading partners of the future. In other words, Ireland s economic 1 6

7 future in a highly globalised world is closely intertwined with the sustainable growth of what are now developing countries. Ireland s effective and efficient development programme, along with its track record in this sector, also gives it a seat at the table and a credible voice on international affairs that is not available to it on the grounds of its political or economic strength. That international prestige, and its source, has been noted in recent years by US President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, among others. Ireland s Policy for International Development recognises that we have a strong voice on the international stage. In fact, there is no doubt that Ireland s positive reputation in the area of overseas aid has greatly increased its influence abroad as evidenced in strong developing country support for its election to the UN Security Council in 2000 and the UN Human Rights Council in Ireland needs to be among the leading nations in sufficient and predictable ODA/GNI spending in order to sustain its reputation and influential position on development cooperation and in the international community. The respect and esteem that accrues from its development programme is vital to a small, geographically peripheral country like Ireland being able to punch above its weight in terms of visibility, politics, diplomacy and economics achieving intended outcomes in international negotiations, or winning overseas markets and attracting inward investment, for example. Following a successful EU Presidency, which has helped restore some of the international reputation damaged by recent economic and financial crises, Ireland now has a great opportunity to demonstrate international leadership in a time of economic hardship. It can do so by increasing the ODA/GNI percentage spend as Canada has done and consolidating our aid spending on at least 0.5% in Budget The economics of resilience is very clear. For every 1 invested in resilience, up to 7 in emergency response spending can be saved. Similarly, with malnutrition. If we identify the threat of malnutrition early, it makes economic as well as humanitarian sense. Say it costs 10 to nourish a child, if we miss that window it can cost up to 200. You save suffering, you save lives, but you also save money. Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, February 2013 Ireland also plays a moral leadership role in fighting hunger and poverty in the poorest countries, Jamie Drummond, from the international grassroots and advocacy organisation ONE, noted in June 2013 at the time of the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland. It is vital to Ireland s diplomacy on these issues that it retains credibility on international development, by stabilising the budget and establishing a clear, credible and sustainable plan to reach the 0.7% ODA/GNI target. 7

8 3) An international commitment to be honoured Ireland made its international commitment to reaching the United Nations 0.7% ODA/GNI target in 2000, announcing that it would achieve that level of spending by (That target date was later deferred to 2012 and then 2015.) After good progress for eight years from 2000, Irish government spending peaked at 0.59% in 2008 but has been subject to dramatic reductions since, with over 32% in spending cuts. Ireland s Policy for International Development, published in May 2013, re-commits Ireland to achieving the 0.7% target (a pledge in the Programme for Government), albeit stabilising the aid budget now and moving towards 0.7% only when the economy improves. Public pride in Ireland playing a positive development and humanitarian role in the world is reflected in opinion polls which continue show overwhelming support for the government to deliver on its aid promises. In 2012, with Ireland in deep economic difficulty, Ipsos MRBI poll data showed that 82% of respondents still supported Ireland achieving its 0.7% aid promise by A similar poll in 2013 showed that support had dropped marginally, to 77%, meaning that nearly 4 out of every 5 people in Ireland want the Government to deliver on its aid promise. Development cooperation is a central pillar of our foreign policy, and one of Ireland s strongest calling cards in an increasingly interdependent world. This is not the time to stymie our development cooperation programme, to hinder the recovery of our international reputation, or to abandon our responsibilities as a nation. The OECD revealed in April 2013 that, despite the economic crisis, nine countries had managed to increase their aid in real terms, while Canada showed international leadership by increasing its ODA/GNI percentage spend. To deliver on Ireland s new Policy for Development Cooperation and its consistent statement of support for the MDGs, Ireland should follow this path in For moral, strategic, political, diplomatic and economic reasons, the Irish Government must redouble its efforts to adequately fund the highly effective, internationally regarded development programme it has built up over many years. Consolidating the ODA budget at 0.5% ODA/GNI, is an appropriate and necessary first step. We are only too aware that many families in Ireland are feeling the impact of our current economic difficulties. Our priority right now is to restore jobs and growth at home. But in doing so, we cannot forget those who are facing extreme poverty elsewhere. An Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore TD, May

9 4) Irish civil society unified in call to protect the most vulnerable In early 2013, Irish Development NGOs set out an agenda for the Irish Government to advance during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Central to this agenda was a call to strengthen commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their 2015 deadline and to agree a strong EU negotiating mandate on the post-2015 development framework, ahead of the UN Special Session in September Under the World We Want banner, Dóchas member organisations met with Irish civil society organisations from many sectors, to identify a national consensus on the new goals that should underpin poverty eradication and sustainable development in Ireland and abroad. These discussions led to the identification of equality and inclusion, universality and civic engagement as core principles which must underpin the post-2015 framework. Through subsequent stages, these principles were translated into five priority areas of action which the new global framework for development must address: 1. Equality Achieve equality between women and men, older and younger, people of disadvantaged socio-economic status and for all groups in society including provision of adequate social protection; 2. Responsive, inclusive and accountable governance Enable governance that is participative, accountable and responsive to the needs of all in society and particularly those living in poverty; 3. Environmental and social sustainability Reduce global consumption to an ecological footprint equal to or smaller than one planet and emphasise the particular responsibility of the Global North to reduce consumption; 4. Human rights Ensure that all government policies and actions are underpinned by the guaranteeing of universal human rights; 5. An economy that works for people and planet restructure the national and global economy to ensure that markets work for people and the environment and not vice versa, including the right to decent employment. Dóchas members are keen to stress that in devising Budget 2014, the Government should seek to reflect these priorities. 9

10 Dóchas members call for the Government to: At a minimum, consolidate ODA spending at 0.5%, thus stabilising the aid budget and allowing for clearly signposted increments to 0.7% in the near term, in line with our international commitments to reaching the UN target and supporting achievement of the MDGs; Restore the multi-year funding agreement for ODA, as recommended by the OECD, and publish a medium-term forward spending plan illustrating how and by when Ireland intends to reach the 0.7% target, in line with its new Policy and its international commitment to support the MDGs; Ensure enhanced predictability, transparency and accountability for Ireland s performance on reaching its financial commitments within ODA, including any multi-annual elements, with regard to bilateral aid, multilateral aid, and tackling global hunger. Dóchas members call on the Government to report routinely and in detail against key financial commitments within ODA, as spelled out under Ireland s Policy for International Development, including progress with regard to the Government decisions to: o Continue to channel 30% of development resources through multilateral organisations, with funding decisions guided by published performance assessments; o Maintain its current 20% spend of Irish Aid funding on tackling global hunger; o Spend 100 million of ODA each year on HIV & AIDS and other communicable diseases; o To devote more resources to gender equality, disability and development education. To implement aid transparency commitments fully and urgently, including the commitment to publish Ireland s aid data under the internationally agreed standard by 2015, and to encourage its development partners to do likewise. --o0o-- 10

11 Dóchas is the association of Irish Non-Governmental Development Organisations. It provides a forum for consultation and cooperation between its 51 members, and helps them speak with a single voice on development issues. For further information visit: DÓCHAS MEMBER ORGANISATIONS ActionAid Ireland - Afri - Africa Centre - Aidlink AIDS Partnership with Africa - Alan Kerins Projects - Amnesty International Ireland - Camara Education - Centre for Global Education ChildAid Ireland India - ChildFund Ireland - Children in Crossfire - Christian Aid Ireland - Christian Blind Mission Ireland - Church Missionary Society Ireland (CMSI) - Comhlámh - Concern Worldwide Development Perspectives Foundation Nepal - Friends of Londiani (Ireland) - Galway One World Centre - Gorta Habitat for Humanity Ireland Haven Community Foundation - Irish League of Credit Unions International Development Foundation (ILCU/IDF) - Irish Council for International Students (ICOS) - Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) - Irish Foundation for Co-operative Development (IFCD) - Irish Missionary Union (IMU) - Irish Red Cross (IRC) - Kerry Action for Development Education (KADE) Misean Cara - National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) Nurture Africa - Oxfam Ireland - Plan Ireland - Progressio Ireland - Self Help Africa SERVE in Solidarity Ireland - Sightsavers International Ireland - Skillshare International Ireland - Suas Educational Development - Tearfund Ireland - The Hope Foundation - The National Council of Ireland YMCA Trust - Trócaire Unicef Ireland - Vita - Voluntary Service International (VSI) - Voluntary Service Overseas (Ireland) - Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM) - War on Want Northern Ireland - World Vision Ireland. 11