US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN1115

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001115 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, ECIN, UNGA 
SUBJECT: IRISH AID OFFICIALS: IRELAND SHARES U.S. 
HOPES/CONCERNS ON HLE 
 
REF: A. DUBLIN 1097 
 
     B. STATE 160880 
     C. STATE 162146 
     D. STATE 162169 
 
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 
-------------------------------- 
 
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 
--------------------------------- 
 
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 
------------------------------- 
 
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