Aid policy booklets for 1.75 million homes

More than 1.75 million booklets on the Government’s Irish Aid policy will be sent to every household next month, it emerged today.

The €115,000 contract to print the 16-page publication has been awarded to a Spanish graphic design company. Irish design company Red Dog Design Consultants designd the booklet.

The A5-sized booklet is a slimmed-down version of the Government’s 128-page White Paper on Irish Aid which was launched by the Taoiseach at Dublin’s Mansion House last September.

“The Mini White Paper on Irish Aid will be distributed to every household in late January or early February,” a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said today.

Ireland is to spend more than €1.5bn a year on overseas aid by 2012, more than twice the current budget, according to the policy document.

The Government Supplies Agency, which awarded the contract, received a total of six tenders to print the booklet but Graphicas Jomagar in Madrid best satisfied the criteria of technical capacity, paper quality and price. The documents will be distributed through An Post.

The White Paper recommended a dedicated unit for conflict analysis and resolution should be established in the Department of Foreign Affairs. This will assist the Government in playing a direct role in supporting peace processes where conflicts have occurred.

A hunger task force will also be set up to draw on the public and private sectors in attempting to tackle the root causes of food scarcity, particularly in Africa.

The Government is also to establish a rapid response initiative, including a roster of highly skilled people for deployment to emergency situations and disaster as they occur.