Campaigners welcome support for overseas aid in alternative Budget
Published: Wednesday, October 06, 2010
PRESS STATEMENT
04 October 2010
Release of Social Justice Ireland's alternative Budget
Campaigners welcome support for overseas aid in alternative Budget
A coalition of 70 anti-poverty groups and NGOs today welcomed Social Justice Ireland's proposal to increase the overseas aid budget in its 2011 alternative Budget.
Earlier today, Social Justice Ireland (SJI) presented a fully-costed alternative Budget. In this budget SJI achieves the Government's aim of saving €3bn in Government expenditure, and at the same time have been able to increase overseas aid by €50 million, in line with the "Act Now on 2015" campaign asks.
Commenting on the release of the alternative Budget, David Joyce, Equality and Development Officer at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), stated:
"Last month, the Government publicly re-committed, at the UN Summit, to achieving the UN target of spending 0.7% of national income on overseas aid. History has shown clearly that such commitments need to be matched by year-on-year targets, to avoid our commitment slipping."
The "Act Now on 2015" campaign is calling on the government to announce binding annual targets to achieve the UN target of spending 0.7% of national income on overseas aid by 2015 at the latest and enact legislation to guarantee Ireland's aid commitment.
John-Mark McCafferty, Head of Social Justice and Policy at The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, noted:
"Our overseas aid programme provides us with a degree of influence well beyond what can be expected of a small country. Ireland is able to lead the world in the fight against Hunger and Poverty, because these are issues close to Irish people's hearts: Recent opinion polls showed that 4 out of 5 people in Ireland feel that we must keep our promise on overseas aid. We welcome the fact that Social Justice Ireland has now shown that we can deliver on our promise, even in a climate of unprecedented financial turmoil at home."
ENDS
Contacts
Eamonn Casey, Dóchas Policy Officer, policy@dochas.ie, Tel. 087 950 6222
Notes for the Editor
- Social Justice Ireland's alternative budget is available at: www.socialjustice.ie
- For further information about the "Act Now on 2015" campaign, visit www.actnow2015.ie
- The "Act Now on 2015" campaign is coordinated by Dóchas, an umbrella group of 45 Irish Development NGOs, and supported by the following organisations:
1. 80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World
2. ActionAid Ireland
3. Afri
4. Africa Centre
5. Age Action Ireland
6. Aidlink
7. Amawele
8. Amnesty International Ireland
9. A-Z Children's Charity
10. Bóthar
11. Camara
12. Centre for Global Education
13. Childfund Ireland
14. Children in Crossfire
15. Christian Aid Ireland
16. CBM Ireland
17. Church Missionary Society Ireland (CMSI)
18. Comhlámh
19. Concern Worldwide
20. Debt and Development Coalition
21. Development Perspectives
22. Dóchas
23. ElectricAid
24. Foundation Nepal
25. Friends of Londiani
26. Frontline Defenders
27. Galway One World Centre (GOWC)
28. Gorta
29. Habitat for Humanity Ireland
30. Hope Foundation
31. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)
32. Irish Council for International Students (ICOS)
33. Irish Development Education Association (IDEA)
34. Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) (IFPA)
35. Irish League of Credit Unions Foundation (ILCUF)
36. Irish Missionary Union (IMU)
37. Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO)
38. Irish Red Cross
39. International Service Ireland (ISI)
40. Just Forests
41. Kerry Action for Development Education (KADE)
42. Kimmage DSC
43. Link Community Development
44. Misean Cara
45. National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI)
46. National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI)
47. Niall Mellon Township Trust
48. Oxfam Ireland
49. Plan Ireland
50. Progressio
51. Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership
52. Sightsavers International Ireland
53. Skillshare International Ireland
54. Social Justice Ireland
55. Sports Against Racism Ireland (SARI)
56. Suas Educational Development
57. Tearfund
58. The One Foundation
59. The SCOOP Foundation
60. The Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Ireland
61. Transparency International Ireland
62. Trócaire
63. Value Added in Africa
64. Viatores Christi
65. Vita
66. Voluntary Service International (VSI)
67. Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)
68. Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM)
69. War on Want Northern Ireland
70. World Vision Ireland