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Inter-Departmental Committee on Development

The Inter-Departmental Committee on Development (IDCD) was launched on the 12th April 2007.

The purpose of the Committee is to strengthen coherence in the Government's approach to development; and make best use of the expertise and skills available across the public service in Ireland's development aid programme.

The Committee is chaired by Minister of State for Overseas Development Mr. Peter Power and comprises senior officials from Irish Aid and the Department of Foreign Affairs and each of the other fourteen Government Departments.

The establishment of the IDCD was one of the commitments included in the White Paper on Irish Aid. The White Paper highlighted that development cooperation does not operate in isolation from other Government policies and it recognised the need for greater coherence in policies across sectors that affect developing countries.

Policies in areas like agriculture, trade, investment, migration and others can have a profound impact on developing countries.   At the EU level twelve Policy Coherence for Development priority areas have been identified: Trade; Environment; Climate change; Security; Agriculture; Fisheries; Social dimension of globalisation, employment and decent work; Migration; Research and innovation; Information society; Transport; and Energy.   The Committee will provide a formal mechanism to ensure that a strong development perspective is integrated as appropriate into Government decision-making.

The Secretariat of the Committee is provided by the EU Multilateral Policy Section of Irish Aid. Contact Carol Hannon by telephone at 061-774043 or e-mail at carol.hannon@dfa.ie