Taoiseach insists aid target will be met
His comments came as Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin insisted the Government’s credibility at the UN is intact despite slashing €45 million from the Irish overseas aid budget in July.
The Taoiseach moved to allay fears among development organisations about the Government’s commitment to combating global poverty as he launched an Irish blueprint to end world hunger at the United Nations in New York.
However, while asserting the Republic would plough 0.7% of national wealth into aid initiatives by 2012 as promised, he indicated the next few budgets may not see the increases promised to reach that goal.
“We’ll be looking at it in what is a more difficult budgetary situation this year and our commitment of 0.7% by 2012 still stands.
“It won’t be easy. It’s not easy but it’s our commitment. It’s what we have to achieve,” he said after rock star and aid activist Bono had praised the Government for leading the world on development issues.
Bono joined Bob Geldof and the Taoiseach to launch the report of Irish Aid’s Hunger Task Force which outlined ways to end what Mr Cowen called the “scandalous” situation which sees 862 million people in the world go hungry.
Bono said this was a time for action and Ireland must keep to its 0.7% commitment.
“It’s always a proud day to be Irish, but some days are prouder than others,” he said in praise of Ireland’s overseas aid record.
Mr Cowen later addressed a UN meeting on combating poverty. The hunger task force focused on three key areas of action — increasing agricultural production in Africa; targeting maternal and infant malnutrition; and changes in leadership priorities.
Mr Cowen said Ireland had a special understanding of the issues involved because of its bitter history.
“One hundred and sixty years ago, Ireland experienced firsthand the trauma and devastation of famine — losing more than one quarter of our population, some two million people, to death and emigration — and that scar has never been fully erased,” he said.
Last year Ireland gave some €900 million in overseas aid and is one of the six most generous nations.
Meanwhile, Mr Martin insisted the Government was still in a position to reach its target of contributing 0.7% of Gross National Product (GNP) to the overseas aid programme by 2012.
In light of the €45m cut from the aid programme, Mr Martin was asked yesterday how the Government could credibly go to the UN and launch the Hunger Task Force report.
“Well, because we’ve increased over the last five or six years our amount by about €3 billion,” Mr Martin responded.
“We’re the sixth-largest per capita donor now in the world. The increases have been dramatic and very rapid, and are having an impact across the world in a whole range of programmes.”
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