Ireland recognised as leader in Aid Effectivenes

Ireland has been recognised as a leader in making development aid more effective at the first meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, held in Mexico on 15 and 16 April. The Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello TD, is leading the Irish delegation to the conference, which also includes the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Pat Breen TD.  The Conference was opened by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban ki Moon and the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto.

 Speaking in Mexico today Minister Costello stressed that in times of scarce resources at home and enormous need in poor countries, it is essential to strengthen the international focus on the quality of development assistance. 

 “Joining our donor support together behind national policies and programmes and using it to strengthen the systems in developing countries has been critical to achieving the enormous progress we have seen in improved health and education services, in dealing with the challenge of HIV and AIDS, and in greater efficiency, oversight and accountability of public expenditure and services in our partner countries.”

The Minister launched a new initiative at the meeting through which Ireland, Mozambique, Finland and Switzerland will work together to strengthen the quality and coordination of development cooperation in Mozambique and to bring new donors, such as China and Brazil, and Civil Society Organisations into aid coordination and planning.

 The Minister stated: 

“Despite changes in the global economy, the provision of Official Development Assistance (ODA) will remain critically important for Least Developed Countries and fragile states.  However, as well as the volumes of assistance, the quality of aid and the way in which it is delivered is critical for  its impact in fighting hunger and malnutrition, delivering sustainable livelihoods and reducing poverty.”

During the meeting of the Global Partnership the Minister met with Ministers from Ireland’s key partner countries including Mozambique, Malawi and Ethiopia and with the Head of the United Nations Development Programme, Helen Clarke to discuss Ireland’s bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes.

Press Office

16 April 2014

Note for Editors

-          Irish Aid is the Government’s programme for overseas assistance. It is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

 -          The Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation was launched in June 2012. It is the successor to the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness and was established, following agreement at the November 2011 Busan HLF on Aid Effectiveness, as a permanent global mechanism to co-ordinate and support the implementation of commitments on effectiveness made at the successive HLFs in Paris, Accra and Busan.

 -          The effectiveness of Ireland’s ODA programme is reflected in successive favourable reviews by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee and Ireland’s consistently high ranking in independent indices, such as the Commitment to Development Index and the Reality of Aid Index.

 -          The widespread recognition of Ireland’s role as a leader in the quality and effectiveness of development cooperation is an important driver of the strong public support for development assistance.