€100 Million Cut in Irish Overseas Aid Budget

On April 7th 2009, the Irish Government announced the imposition of a series of taxes and cuts in an attempt to ameliorate the effects of the global recession in Ireland. What the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan did not mention was the €100 million cut to Irish Overseas Aid that was included in the Supplementary Budget.

This was the fourth cut in 10 months after €45 million was cut in July 2008, €15 million in October and a further €95 million in February of this year. This effectively means that since October 2008, there has been a 22% reduction in Ireland’s Overseas Aid Budget. Without doubt this shows that the Irish Government sees the aid budget as a soft target. This is despite the fact that millions of vulnerable people in developing countries are already struggling to cope with the effects of climate change, global food insecurity and the financial crisis and has occurred at the same time that rich countries have managed to find trillions to bail out the banking system.

Previously, Ireland has publicly committed to achieving the UN target of spending 0.7% of GNP on overseas aid by 2012. However, based on current figures Ireland is now only contributing 0.48% of GNP. In 2009, Ireland was the sixth largest aid donor in the world in per capita terms, and although this position will probably be maintained throughout 2009, the recent cuts have not only made such an achievement more difficult but have also damaged Ireland’s reputation as a nation committed to overseas development. Other countries currently slashing their budgets in this fashion include Italy and Latvia, but neither are considered strong players in overseas development, unlike Ireland.

Brian Lenihan claimed that the Government would continue to focus resources “on those most in need”. It is worth noting therefore that;

• The World Bank estimates that an additional 53 million people are already expected to be trapped in poverty in 2009.
  
• DFID (UK Department for International Development) claim that by December 2010 the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day will be about 90 million higher because of the far-reaching impacts of the financial crisis.
  
• WaterAid has noted that throughout 2009 more than 1 in 8 of the world’s population will be without essential access to water.
  
• Concern Worldwide and other NGOs have pointed out that in 2008; an additional 40 million people in developing countries joined the ranks of the hungry and malnourished, due to rising food prices.

Countless other facts and figures could be presented as justification for a reversal of the savage cut made to the Irish Overseas Aid Budget. The cut is quite simply unjust and immoral and despite what the Department of Foreign Affairs’ statement on ODA levels claims, now is a time to be critical of ourselves. Ireland has made commitments to overseas aid and now is not the time to renege on them.