Ireland urged not to abandon poor

INTERNATIONAL aid experts have called on Ireland not to abandon financial commitments to the world’s poor despite our own economic crisis.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) praised Irish efforts to alleviate global hunger and poverty over the past five years in its latest review of the national overseas development assistance (ODA) programme.

But its development assistance committee (DAC) expressed concern over a recent 22% cut in the ODA budget.

Its review, published yesterday, says: “The DAC strongly urges Ireland to continue to make progress towards meeting the ODA/GNI target of 0.7% in 2012, and to reach its interim target of 0.6% in 2010 even in an environment of declining GNI.”

The OECD’s review and evaluation chief Karen Jorgenson said: “We did make a statement about the reducing budget. It wasn’t a unilateral ‘do not cut a cent’. We can’t do that. We can only urge the Government to stick to its commitments.”

Irish Aid was also criticised for not setting up a governance unit to ensure transparency in countries receiving ODA.

However, Ms Jorgenson said: “We were impressed with the quality of the [Irish Aid] staff and the commitment of the staff. It is a thinking organisation, it is willing to change and to improve.”

Minister for Overseas Development Peter Power welcomed the report as “a ringing endorsement”.