IRISH AID OFFICIALS: IRELAND SHARES U.S.

1. (SBU) Summary: Ireland shares U.S. hopes for a successful
UN High-Level Event (HLE), as well as U.S. concerns about the
development portion of the HLE outcome document, Ronan
Murphy, Director General of Ireland's aid agency, told the
Ambassador and DCM on September 7. Murphy said that aid
recipients' responsibilities on governance would be a key
negotiating point in the outcome document and that governance
was an increasingly significant issue for the GOI aid
program, as demonstrated by a recent symbolic reduction in
Irish assistance to Uganda. He also noted that Taoiseach
(Prime Minister) Ahern would focus his September 14 HLE
speech on increased Irish funding for HIV/AIDS and for
emergency/famine response, initiatives that the GOI hoped to
coordinate with the USG. End summary.

Ireland Shares U.S. Hopes on HLE


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2. (SBU) Ireland shares the United States' hopes for a
successful UN High-Level Event and a meaningful outcome
document, Ronan Murphy, Director General of Development
Cooperation Ireland (DCI, the overseas aid agency within the
Department of Foreign Affairs) told the Ambassador and DCM
during a September 7 discussion on reftels' demarche points.
Murphy noted that the GOI, like the USG, had concerns about
the development chapter of the outcome document, particularly
its excessive length (a view expressed by GOI officials in
previous demarches, per ref A). The GOI was also dubious of
proposals for an International Financing Facility (IFF) that
might be discussed at the HLE, though Ireland did not object
to countries participating in innovative financing
arrangements voluntarily. Overall, the GOI was disappointed
with lack of progress on the outcome document. Murphy cited
recent correspondence from the Irish Mission to the UN,
however, suggesting better prospects for agreement on the
document, specifically, the manner in which the draft might
refer to the Millennium Development Goals.

Ireland's New Focus on Governance


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3. (SBU) Aid recipients' responsibilities on governance are
an increasingly significant focus for the GOI, said Murphy.
He noted that DCI would soon publish a white paper on
official development assistance (ODA) strategies for the next
six years, a paper that would include, for the first time, a
chapter on governance. He added that the GOI, having
allocated euro 546 million to ODA in 2005, needed to reassure
the public that funding would not be wasted because of
governance/corruption problems. As an example of the GOI's
seriousness on this issue, DCI had reduced aid to Uganda from
euro 32 million to euro 30 million in 2005 to signal Irish
dissatisfaction with President Museveni's leadership. "For
lack of a stick in that case, we decided to cut off part of
the carrot," said Murphy. He also observed that agreement on
the development chapter of the HLE outcome document depended
largely on efforts to find common ground on the draft's
references to governance.

The Prime Minister's HLE Speech


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4. (SBU) Murphy remarked that Taoiseach (Prime Minister)
Bertie Ahern's September 14 HLE speech would outline
Ireland's overall approach to assistance, including a new
timetable for Ireland to fulfill its commitment to allocate
0.7 percent of GDP to ODA. (Per ref B, Ireland's ODA now
stands at 0.4 percent of GDP; at the 2000 Millennium Summit,
Ahern had committed Ireland to reach 0.7 percent of GDP for
ODA by 2007.) Murphy noted that Ahern's speech would focus
on increased funding to combat HIV/AIDS, an initiative that
the GOI hoped to coordinate with the office of U.S. Global
Aid Coordinator Randall Tobias. The speech will also
highlight Irish funding for emergency/famine response, which
Conor Lenihan, Minister of State for Overseas Development,
intended to discuss more fully with USAID Administrator
Natsios in a planned September 15 meeting in New York. The
Ambassador and DCM cited Ireland's rapid response and
effectiveness in several ongoing UN peace-keeping missions
and encouraged Murphy/DCI to build on that experience in
working with other countries to address future emergency
situations.
BENTON