Trocaire chairman says government must fulfil promise on aid

THE Government must significantly increase its contribution to programmes for development aid in third world countries, the chairman of the Catholic aid agency Trocaire said yesterday.

Bishop John Kirby also expressed concern that the Government may fail to meet its spending targets on overseas development.

The 189 member states of the UN have committed themselves in the Millennium Development Goals to funding the organisation’s target of reducing the level of absolute poverty in the world by half by 2015.