Have we delivered a killer blow to millions?

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern last week reneged on a public commitment given at the UN in 2000 that Ireland would give 0.7% of GNP in overseas development aid by 2007 to the poorest countries in the world.

There is now no specific target date for honouring our commitment.

This failure to fulfil our promise will come quite literally as a mortal blow to the millions of people who live in appalling poverty, gripped by sickness, famine and hunger as they battle to survive daily on less than the price of this newspaper.