IRELAND MUST not turn its back on the struggle to eradicate world poverty, a senior United Nations official said during a visit to Dublin yesterday.
Director of the UN Millennium Campaign to halve poverty levels by 2015, Salil Shetty praised Ireland’s role in providing development aid but expressed deep concern at recent cutbacks in the programme.
Ireland participated in the UN Millennium Summit 10 years ago in New York where then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern pledged that this country would achieve the target of allocating 0.7 per cent of national income to development aid by 2007. Since then, the target-date has shifted, first to 2012 and now 2015 “at the latest”.
“Irish government aid is rated among the best-quality in the donor world,” Mr Shetty said in an interview.
“We fully understand the economic challenges and difficulties the global economic crisis has placed before Ireland. Our own assessment is that by continuing to keep its proud place in the donor community, Ireland will get many benefits, in terms of its overall foreign policy voice at EU and UN level.
“While we understand the economic challenges, other countries such as Spain, the UK and the USA have still kept their aid commitments. Our hope and expectation is that in the course of 2010 and in the run-up to the Millennium Summit in New York in September, the Irish Government will announce a clear timetable on how they will achieve the 0.7 per cent target between now and 2015,” Mr Shetty said.