Ireland’s involvement in Africa has received a boost after separate visits to the continent by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore and Minister of State for Trade and Development Jan O’Sullivan – both of whom were in Africa to assess the impact of Ireland’s aid programme in three of Ireland’s programme countries: Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
This year alone, the Irish Government has budgeted €669m for Ireland’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), designated for programmes to help some of the world’s poorest nations to combat hunger, poverty and exclusion.
Both the UN and countries that have previously received support from Irish Aid have praised Ireland for its modern development initiative. But there has also been growing disquiet among the public in Ireland on the implication of continuing development assistance in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis.
Aid is also being blamed for creating a huge dependency culture among the poorest of the poor. It is argued that assisting poor countries to unlock their economic potential by way of investment and trade would have a greater multiplier effect than the current system. As the saying goes, if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.
We therefore welcome the announcement this week by Minister O’Sullivan of the Govern-ment’s decision to review the 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid, which informed the Government’s current programme for overseas development.
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