In a recent An Irishman's Diary, Kevin Myers questioned the role of Third World non-governmental, non-profit-making organisations, stating that nobody dared discuss their activities, never mind challenge them.

No organisation benefiting from public donations and government support should be free from discussion or scrutiny and Third World non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are no exception. Informed public debate is an essential ingredient to maintaining public confidence in any sector of society.

So let us consider the context in which NGOs operate. More than 1.5 billion people in the developing world are living on less than $1 per day, a figure used by the UN to define absolute poverty. Hundreds of millions of people still lack access to water, sanitation, healthcare and education. And while life expectancy at birth has increased during the past 36 years from 46 to 62 years, in sub-Saharan Africa it is still only 58 years due to the combined ravages of poverty and HIV/ AIDS. Many millions of people in these countries live in war zones, further compounding their poverty. This is our world today.

Contrast conditions in developing countries with those in Ireland even before the era of the Celtic Tiger. Our society was characterised, and still is, by NGOs operating on behalf of a wide array of disadvantaged groups, including the unemployed, physically and mentally handicapped people, women's groups, youth groups, homeless people, Travellers and more recently, refugees and asylum-seekers.

This wide array of NGOs is recognised as being of fundamental importance to the creation of a civilised, democratic society. In fact, the term civil society has recently been coined to reflect the importance of the different strata of society being represented in the decision-making process.

And while the success of the Irish economy in recent years can be attributed to the partnership between government, employers, trade unions and farmers, it is now widely recognised that a wider involvement of civil society actors is required to bring about a more equitable distribution of our economic success.

Rather than being castigated as representing a poverty industry, the spokespersons for the marginalised in our society have a key role to play in ensuring that the benefits of the Celtic Tiger are made available to their constituents.

How much more, then, do the marginalised peoples in the developing countries need advocates, both within and beyond their own countries? This is the role NGOs have carried out over many years, not just supporting people in their relief and developmental needs but also articulating the inequalities of the global economic system with governments, with the European Union and at UN conferences, where the moral authority of the NGOs is in sharp contrast to the unfulfilled promises of our political leaders.

It has been the NGOs, both from developing and developed countries, who have spearheaded the campaign for the cancellation of the unpayable debts of the poorest countries and raised it to the very top of the world's political agenda. Unfortunately, following the dismal failure of the recent G8 summit in Okinawa, Japan, to deliver on previous promises to cancel $100 billion in unpayable debts it will require the concerted and sustained efforts of NGOs to maintain public and political pressure on the political leaders.

The Irish public has long recognised the contributions of NGOs to the alleviation of poverty, particularly their ability and willingness to work at grassroots level with the poorest of the poor. The largest three organisations in Ireland, Trocaire, Concern and GOAL, have their origins in the 1960s and 1970s and have been joined by a number of smaller agencies drawing support from various sectors of Irish society, including the churches, agriculture, sports, medicine, and trade union bodies.

They receive support not just through public donations but also in grant aid from governments, the EU and UN agencies, all of which have strict criteria for allocating funding and monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure it is properly spent. For Irish NGOs to retain credibility with the public and other donors, they must convince them that the aid they disburse is administered effectively and to those who need it most.

Rather than being a weakness, as is sometimes suggested, the increasing number of Irish NGOs is a strength, reflecting the extent to which the public here is prepared to support world development.

It is also important they use their collective strength, which is why Dochas was founded as the representative association for Irish NGOs, to work for global justice with a common vision to contribute to the creation of a just world where basic needs are met, where people are empowered, where there is equity in the management and distribution of resources and where human rights are respected.

In furtherance of this vision, Dochas seeks to promote the just interests of the peoples of the developing world in key areas of Irish, EU and UN policy and to promote the achievement of the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for Irish official development aid.

One measure of the effectiveness of Dochas in its lobbying efforts is the slow but sustained increase in Irish aid towards that 0.7 per cent figure and the threatened resignation of the Minister of State for Overseas Development, Ms Liz O'Donnell, following the 1998 Budget, which provided a derisory increase in aid.

Dochas, in turn, is affiliated to the Liaison Committee for NGOs, a forum of some 900 NGOs throughout the EU and a potentially powerful advocate for the legitimate aspirations of the peoples of the developing world. Through this forum we are lobbying the European Commission with regard to its recently published development policy document to ensure greater priority for poverty reduction measures and coherence in all other policy areas including trade, agriculture and debt, with the primary aim of reducing poverty

As the representative association for Irish development NGOs, Dochas has a role in ensuring the setting and maintaining of standards. It has been campaigning for improved statutory regulation of the charity sector in Ireland, in the interests of the public and of legitimate charities, and has made representations to Government in this regard. In the absence of such regulations, Dochas acts as a self-regulatory body: its criteria for membership include the production of audited accounts and the acceptance of a charter of Basic Principles of Development and Humanitarian Aid.

Finally, there is no doubt that every Irish NGO working in the developing world would long for the day when our services would no longer be required.

P.J. Howell is chairman of Dochas, the association of non-governmental organisations in Ireland