Govt urged not to cut overseas aid

The Government has been urged not to cut overseas aid when it announces its public spending review for 2008 tomorrow.

Early speculation has suggested the axe may fall on on recruitment, advertising and consultancy services within departments to make up the estimated €500m in savings.

A number of National Development Plan projects that don’t include roads and major infrastructure may also be delayed to plug the expected €5bn hole in tax revenues by the end of the year.

A major debate on the economy and the €22bn NDP takes place in the Dáil on Wednesday and Thursday.

Oxfam Ireland tonight said many developing countries are now facing both higher food and energy prices which has led to a massive increase of people living in poverty.

The Government has committed to achieve the UN target of 0.7% by 2012 and is on course to achieving that, having met the first commitment to spend 0.5% of GNP on overseas aid by 2007.

“People living in poverty are already being squeezed by higher prices,” said Policy and Advocacy Co-ordinator Colin Roche.

“We should ensure that we protect the most vulnerable from spending cuts and no one is more vulnerable than those living in absolute poverty.

“The Government should continue to make progress on the UN target but it would be perverse to cut overseas aid on the way to achieving it," continued Mr Roche.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan today published the annual report of the NDP which detailed progress on projects during 2007.

He said: “The NDP is making real improvements in all sectors of the economy and society, including economic and social infrastructure, education and training, research and development and social inclusion measures.”

He explained that more than 4,500 kilometres of non-national roads have been improved, 11 national road network projects were completed during 2007 and 67 new rail carriages are now operating on the Dublin-Cork route.