Madam, - The upcoming Irish presidency of the European Union, from January 2004, is a key opportunity for Irish politicians and civil servants to bring our own unique identity to bear on world affairs.
One of the areas in which Ireland stands out on the world stage is in our commitment to helping those in poverty overseas. Ireland has declared, in a promise most recently repeated by An Taoiseach in September, that we will reach the UN target for overseas aid - 0.7 per cent of national income - by 2007.
This places us in an exceptional position of global leadership. But in order to achieve this promise and maintain the quality of the programmes which the Irish government supports we must ensure that we continue to increase our level of spending in even, incremental steps, consistent with meeting the target.
In the context of the EU Presidency it is even more important that the upcoming spending estimates for 2004 include a significant step towards the 0.7 per cent target.
The presidency agenda includes a number of issues relating to the Union's role in the world. Demonstrating Ireland's determination to keep our own promise to the world's poor will enable us to exercise our leadership position during the presidency in a manner of which we can all be proud. - Yours, etc.,
HANS ZOMER,
Director, Dóchas,
The Irish Association
of Non-Governmental
Development Organisations,
Harcourt Street,
Dublin 2.