Madam, - It is indeed regrettable that the new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Conor Lenihan, could not reaffirm the Government's commitment to meet the goal of 0.7 per cent of GDP for foreign aid by 2007.
Could he now provide a revised timetable for this goal? The Millennium Development Goals, to which the Government is committed, have a target date of 2015. Could the Minister confirm the intention to achieve the 0.7 per cent mark by then? It would be useful if an annual target were set for each year from now to 2015. This would provide electors with a benchmark to which the Government might be held accountable, particularly as we approach the next election. - Yours, etc.,
Dr MICHAEL O'TOOLE, Global Health Initiative, Trinity College, Dublin 2.