Commenting on an independent review of overseas aid statistics published on 17 February 2010, Ireland’s overseas development organisations have highlighted how aid shortfalls threaten the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – and how Ireland is well off track to deliver on its own projected aid levels for 2010, even if still within EU targets. Ireland had set itself the ambition of being a leader on international development. By repeatedly cutting its overseas aid budget and reneging on its promise to reach the 0.7% target by 2012, Ireland broke its promises to the poorest, affecting millions of lives in developing countries” said Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas, the umbrella group of Ireland’s overseas aid agencies. “What’s more, we have also damaged the huge respect this country gained internationally on the basis of our world class overseas programme.” added Zomer.

Overall, the aid figures show an increase in real terms from 2005, five years after the MDGs were established, but a significant shortfall from what donors repeatedly confirmed they would provide. The OECD warned that “overall, aid will still fall considerably short of what was promised” and encouraged all donors, but especially European donors who support Africa, to “carry through on their development promises”.

Ireland had been well on track to achieve its aid targets until 2008, when it reached 0.59% of national income, but in 2009 slashed €224 million from the aid budget, followed by a further cut this year. As a result, Ireland is now well off its own target for this year, being back to around 0.52%. In December, the Government also gave up on its 2012 deadline – moving its commitment to the 0.7% target to 2015.

The latest statistics from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that Ireland is expected to spend 0.52% of gross national income on official development assistance (ODA) in 2010, when it had projected that it would reach 0.6% this year, on its way to reaching 0.7% by 2012.

“All donors, including Ireland, should acknowledge their international responsibilities and live up to their promises. It is essential that commitments are met to the full extent by all donor countries if we are to achieve the MDGs.”

“This September, the UN will review progress towards the MDGs, which is well off track – not least because wealthy countries have failed to deliver on their end of the bargain, in terms of financing for development,” added Zomer.

Overall, the aid figures show an increase in real terms from 2005, five years after the MDGs were established, but a significant shortfall from what donors repeatedly confirmed they would provide. The OECD warned that “overall, aid will still fall considerably short of what was promised” and encouraged all donors, but especially European donors who support Africa, to “carry through on their development promises”.

Ireland had been well on track to achieve its aid targets until 2008, when it reached 0.59% of national income, but in 2009 slashed €224 million from the aid budget, followed by a further cut this year. As a result, Ireland is now well off its own target for this year, being back to around 0.52%. In December, the Government also gave up on its 2012 deadline – moving its commitment to the 0.7% target to 2015.

As a result, Irish NGOs have questioned the depth of the Government’s international aid commitments – and called for clear measures to show it is serious about its revised ODA targets, and therefore the MDGs.

“We have seen Government U-turns on Ireland’s overseas aid commitments in 2005 and 2009. Ireland’s latest aid promise needs to be credible. We need guarantees that the government will not break its pledge again.”

“To repair its reputation and restore credibility, we are calling on the Government to announce practical steps, including a binding timetable of aid increases, and to copperfasten its aid commitment in legislation”, concluded Zomer.

Development NGOs call on Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee to promote legislation after Government shifts UN target date to 2015

In a meeting with the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee on 17 December, Irish aid agencies called on the Government to clarify when and how it will deliver on its international aid commitment.

Aid agencies raised questions about Government promises on the issue, after Minister of State Peter Power TD indicated that Ireland would renege on its promise to reach the target by 2012. Commenting on the aid cuts in the Budget, the Minister had said the target date would now be 2015.

Helen Keogh of WorldVision Ireland and Tom Arnold of Concern, representing Dóchas – the umbrella group of Irish development agencies – asked the Foreign Affairs Committee to promote legislation that would guarantee Ireland’s aid commitment.

“Twice we promised ‘solemnly’ to achieve the UN 0.7% target, and twice we have failed to achieve it by the date we set for ourselves. This shifting the goalposts to 2015 will costs poor countries hundreds of millions of euro in aid money that Ireland has promised but now won’t be delivering. This repeated breaking of our previous commitments raises serious questions about the credibility of this new promise on 2015,” said Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas.

“At a minimum, to repair its reputation and restore credibility, the Government needs to announce practical steps, dates and spending increments to restore the aid programme, and to copperfasten its aid commitment in legislation.”

The Foreign Affairs Committee meeting also heard of a new and disturbing threat to the overseas aid budget, with suggestions that the Government wants to take from it to make up some of a new pledge for climate change adaptation. Committee chairman, Dr Michael Woods TD, undertook to inquire into the issue.

Committee members had raised the matter after media reports that the Irish Government wants to raid the aid budget for at least some of the €100 million of Ireland’s ‘substantial new and additional funding’ for an EU fast-track programme to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

“The Government has cut the aid budget massively and repeatedly this year. And it has also reneged for a second time on its promise to reach the 0.7% target. And now we hear that the Government is considering taking from the aid budget again, this time to keep Ireland’s climate change commitments,” commented Hans Zomer of Dóchas.

“Clearly, we cannot divert vital funds from programmes for essential services such as health and education to pay for our climate debt; this money needs to be new, and additional to our aid commitments” said Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas, the umbrella group of Ireland’s major aid agencies.

“It really is time for this Government to start taking both its overseas aid and climate change commitments seriously, and to stop making the world’s poorest people pay for our troubles,” Zomer continued.

Notes for the Editor:

• The 2009 budget for overseas aid was €696 million, down 24% (€224 million) from the previous year.
• The 2010 budget for overseas aid works out as €671 million.
• At the UN Millennium Review Summit in 2005, then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern committed Ireland to reaching the UN target of spending 0.7% of our GNP on overseas aid by 2012 at the latest.
• The Government set interim targets “against which our progress towards the target can be measured”.
  • The interim target set for 2010 was 0.6% of GNI.
  • The cut in the 2010 aid budget (€25million) means that Ireland’s aid effort works out at around 0.52%, well short of the target set by the Government.

In response to Finance Minister Brian Lenihan’s Budget speech, Dóchas – the umbrella group of Ireland’s Development NGOs – expressed disappointment at the Government’s decision to cut the overseas aid budget even further.

“Once again, the poorest people on earth have been hit hard. Today’s announcement of €25 million worth of cuts to the aid budget comes on top of a massive 24% cut in 2009 – cuts that have meant severe hardship for countless poor people”, said Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas, which unites 44 Irish aid agencies and Development NGOs”

“It is time we recognise that the world’s poorest people cannot afford further cuts” added Zomer.

The aid agencies commented that Ireland’s credibility abroad was dented severely by the second failure to achieve the aid target date.

“Twice we promised ‘solemnly’ to achieve the UN 0.7% target, and twice we have failed to achieve it by the date we set for ourselves. It does raise serious questions about the credibility of this new aid promise. At a minimum, to restore credibility, the Government needs to copperfasten this commitment in legislation, and announce real and practical steps to restore the aid programme” said Hans Zomer on behalf of the 44 members of Dóchas.

“We will be seeking an urgent meeting with Minister Power, to seek clarification about the government’s commitment to its international obligations, as we do not want Ireland to renege on its promises to the poorest people on earth”, added Zomer.

Notes for the Editor:

• The 2009 budget for overseas aid was €696 million, down 24% (€224 million) from the previous year.
• The 2010 budget for overseas aid works out as €671 million.
• At the UN Millennium Review Summit in 2005, then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern committed Ireland to reaching the UN target of spending 0.7% of our GNP on overseas aid by 2012 at the latest.
• The Government set interim targets “against which our progress towards the target can be measured”.
  • The interim target set for 2010 was 0.6% of GNI.
  • Today’s announcement of a cut of €25million means that Ireland’s aid effort works out at around 0.52%, well short of the target set by the Government.

• Due to the earlier cuts, Ireland’s aid expenditure for 2009 is predicted to fall well short of the target and reach only 0.52% of GNI.

On 30 November leading development NGOs handed over 6,500 signed postcards and e-cards over to the Department of the Taoiseach. The cards which were collected over the past few weeks, called on the government to stop the aid cuts and get back on track towards our 2012 aid target, and serve to highlight that people in Ireland do care about global solidarity.

CEOs and supporters of leading Development NGOs held a giant post card to symbolise 6,500 postcards calling on the Government not to cut the overseas aid budget.

In a statement published on 12 November, a group of 30 TDs and Senators have called on the Government not to cut the overseas aid budget any further.

The group, which includes seven members of Fianna Fáil and three members of the Green Party, said cuts to the overseas aid budget had totaled €224 million, or the equivalent of 24%, since February this year. This was the biggest percentage cut imposed across any government department.
The all-party group (which also includes nine Labour TDs, seven from Fine Gael, two from Sinn Féin and two Independents) pointed out that earlier this year, the OECD praised Ireland as a “reliable and flexible” donor with a “cutting edge” aid programme.

“Ireland must stay true to its core values,” the group said. “These are values which contributed to our hard won international reputation as a nation, values such as solidarity, cooperation and integrity. One billion people, almost one in six people on the planet, are now going hungry, the first time this has happened in history.”

The group said that publicly and politically, Ireland’s partnership with the developing world runs deep.

“In these most challenging times, Ireland can and should respond to the needs of the world’s poorest people. Ireland is well placed to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the elimination of hunger and poverty. The overseas aid budget represents less than 1% of overall projected government spending this year. Further cuts to such a small portion of our spending will have a very limited impact on our financial stability here in Ireland, but they will have a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable people in the developing world.”

Click here to watch RTE’s report.

Read the statement as published in the Irish Times.

* * * * *

The full text of the statement is reproduced below:

All-Party Statement on Ireland’s Commitment to the World’s Poor

Earlier this year, the OECD praised Irish Aid as a ‘reliable and flexible’ donor with a ‘cutting edge’ aid programme. Praise we can certainly be proud of. However, cuts to the overseas aid budget have totalled €224 million, or the equivalent of 24%, since February this year. This is the biggest percentage cut imposed across any government department.

Ireland is facing the most difficult challenges the nation has ever faced. There are difficult decisions to be made. Notwithstanding these challenges and the pressure they are placing on Irish people, Ireland must stay true to its core values. These are values which contributed to our hard won international reputation as a nation, values such as solidarity, cooperation and integrity.

Never before has such a perfect storm enveloped the world’s poor. The financial and economic crises have come on top of a food and fuel crisis in early 2008 and the ongoing climate crisis is likely to be the greatest challenge they have ever faced. One billion people, almost one in six people on the planet, are now going hungry, the first time this has happened in history.

Irish NGOs are now faced with withdrawing their operations from some of the poorest countries in the world. Life-saving programmes are being stopped, such as programmes that are providing essential vaccinations to vulnerable children and clean water and sanitation services to poor communities. Women’s lives in Uganda are being put at risk because their access to prenatal and post-natal care is being withdrawn. Families in Angola, who were eating two meals a day instead of one, may now go hungry once again as a result of their programme being cut. People who were already on the brink are being forced into even deeper poverty, resulting in increased morbidity, malnutrition and rising infant mortality.

Publicly and politically, Ireland’s partnership with the developing world runs deep. Development and humanitarian policies sit at the heart of our foreign policy, promoting peace, development, prosperity and justice.

In these most challenging times, Ireland can and should respond to the needs of the world’s poorest people. Ireland is well placed to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the elimination of hunger and poverty. Our own tragic history of famine behoves us to do so.

The overseas aid budget represents less than 1% of overall projected government spending this year. Further cuts to such a small portion of our spending will have a very limited impact on our financial stability here in Ireland, but they will have a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable people in the developing world. Investment requires long-term commitments and predictability in order for it to be effective. Withdrawing funding to well-established partners, programmes and beneficiaries is a short-sighted and inefficient means of protecting a substantial investment over the course of Irish Aid’s existence.

We therefore earnestly call on the Government not to cut overseas aid any further in the next budget.

Signed by:

• Chris Andrews TD
• Senator Dan Boyle
• Pat Breen TD
• Joan Burton TD
• Seán Connick TD
• Joe Costello TD
• Ciarán Cuffe TD (Green Party Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs)
• John Deasy TD (Fine Gael Spokesperson with Special Responsibility for Overseas Development Aid)
• Bernard Durkan TD (Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs)
• Senator Dominic Hannigan
• Michael D Higgins TD (Labour Party Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs)
• Brendan Howlin TD (Chairperson of the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa)
• Michael Kitt TD (Former Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Overseas Development)
• Tom Kitt TD (Former Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Overseas Development)
• Kathleen Lynch TD
• Olivia Mitchell TD
• Arthur Morgan TD
• Denis Naughten TD
• Dan Neville TD
• Charlie O’Connor TD
• Fergus O’Dowd TD
• Rory O’Hanlon TD (Vice-Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs)
• Senator Fiona O’Malley
• Brian O’Shea TD
• Aengus O’Snodaigh TD (Sinn Féin Spokesperson on International Affairs)
• Jan O’Sullivan TD
• Maureen O’Sullivan TD
• Ruairí Quinn TD
• Mary Upton TD
• Michael Woods TD (Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs)

For further information, contact Simon Murtagh, The Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA), Tel: 087 3238718.

Click here to watch RTE’s report

From RTE, 6 November 2009

Mrs Robinson made the comments at the annual meeting of the country’s Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence – to which she is a special advisor.

The Government has committed to contributing 0.7% of GDP to overseas aid by 2012 however currently it is at 0.48%. In a succession of cuts, the Irish Aid budget has been reduced by €222m this year. Mrs Robinson said she knew times were very tough and that people in Ireland were hurting, but that the Government should keep its commitment on aid spending.

Mrs Robinson said the Government needed to plan to meet the target of contributing 0.7% of GDP to foreign aid.

African musicians based in Ireland came out this week to declare their support for the We Do Care campaign.

(left to right) Naughty from Millaz, Charles Radise, Prince 4 God, Deb Sandy, Chris Kabbs, Kyria Dee, MC Mighty, Yn Hitz, Jean Passion and Shaq Millaz declared that they do not want the government to cut the overseas aid programme.

Ifrah Ahmad (contestant Face of Africa), Rumbidzai Netsiyanwa (Miss Zimbabwe 2009), Goodness Sibanda (African Queen of Ireland), Elizabeth Dumba (Miss Zimbabwe Ireland) and Gwendolene Maphoso (Face of Africa First Princess) have lent their support to the campaign in favour of Ireland’s aid promise to the world’s poorest people.

(left to right) Ifrah Ahmad (contestant Face of Africa), Rumbidzai Netsiyanwa (Miss Zimbabwe 2009), Goodness Sibanda (African Queen of Ireland), Elizabeth Dumba (Miss Zimbabwe Ireland) and Gwendolene Maphoso (Face of Africa First Princess)

In a letter published in the Irish Times, Academics called on the government to respect its international development commitments and at the very least to maintain the official aid programme at its current level in the forthcoming budget.

* * * *

The letter as published in the Irish Times:

Cuts to development aid

Mon, Oct 26, 2009

Madam, – Ireland has in recent years established itself as a generous donor in the field of international development, and its aid programme has been widely lauded for its effectiveness and its focus on hunger and poverty reduction in some of the world’s poorest countries.

However, Ireland is now reneging on its promises and is in danger of undoing the good work and good international reputation it has achieved.

In 2008, the Government spent €920.6 million on official development assistance (ODA), or overseas aid. The budget has been reduced to €696 million in 2009, a cut of more than 24 per cent in our commitment to some of the world’s poorest countries.

While recognising that difficult decisions have to be taken within the current economic climate, the cuts to the official aid budget have been particularly severe and disproportionate, with serious consequences for Ireland’s contribution to poverty reduction.

Life-saving programmes in areas such as water and sanitation, primary healthcare and nutrition have already been curtailed and many successful initiatives are set to be discontinued.

The possibility of even further cuts is creating enormous uncertainty for development and relief organisations and overseas partners trying to plan their work, at a time when poverty and vulnerability are growing dramatically. This is not just a cause of concern for government or political parties, but for the entire country, as it says much about the values we espouse as a society.

As individual academics involved in and concerned about development research and teaching, we are calling on the Government to respect its international development commitments and at the very least to maintain the official aid programme at its current level in the forthcoming budget. – Yours, etc,

FIONA MEEHAN, Lecturer, Kimmage Development Studies Centre (KDSC), Dublin 12;
Dr ADEBOLA ADEDIMEJI, TCD;
Dr BARBARA BRADBY, TCD;
Dr EAMONN BREHONY, KDSC;
TOM CAMPBELL, KDSC;
Dr PADRAIG CARMODY, TCD;
Dr FRANCESCO CAVATORTA, DCU;
Dr NICK CHISHOLM, UCD;
Dr EILEEN CONNOLLY, DCU;
Prof PEADAR CREMIN, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick;
Dr MAURA CRONIN, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick;
Dr PATRICK DAVEY, Mountains of the Moon University, Uganda;
Prof JIM DEEGAN, UL;
Dr ANNE DOLAN, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick;
Dr GERARD DOWNES, UL;
Prof MARTIN J DOWNES, NUI Maynooth;
Dr HONOR FAGAN, NUI Maynooth;
Dr JIM GLEESON, UL;
Dr ROSARII GRIFFIN, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick;
Dr BERNIE GRUMMELL, NUI Maynooth;
DEIRDRE HEALY, KDSC;
Dr SU-MING KHOO, NUI Galway;
ANNE KINSELLA, KDSC;
Dr JIM KINSELLA, UCD;
Prof PEADAR KIRBY, University of Limerick;
Dr EDWARD LAHIFF, TCD;
Dr JAMES LOUGHMAN, DIT;
PATRICK MARREN, KDSC;
Dr CHANDANA MATHUR, NUI Maynooth;
Prof ALAN MATTHEWS, TCD;
FIONA MEEHAN, KDSC;
Prof JIM PHELAN, UCD;
PADDY REILLY, KDSC;
BRENDAN RIORDAN, Consultant;
Dr HELEN SHERIDAN, TCD;
Dr ANDY STOREY, UCD;
Dr RIK VAN NIEUWENHOVE; Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

© 2009 The Irish Times

Irish Independent

Sunday October 18 2009

THIRTY-FIVE academics from all seven Irish universities have highlighted their concern at cuts in Ireland’s foreign aid budget.

In a letter to newspapers they said that Ireland had established itself as a generous international donor, but the cuts in foreign aid have been “particularly severe and disproportionate, with serious consequences for Ireland’s contribution to poverty reduction”.

In 2008, the Government spent €920.6m on overseas aid. The budget has been reduced to €696m in 2009.