Tax Not Insurance

The Robin Hood Tax campaign is capturing the imagination of tens of thousands of people in the UK. Importantly, the main political parties have also started engaging - each making their own unique sounds.

While this is very welcome and a great tribute to all those involved in the campaign, a close watch needs to be maintained to ensure that bad policy is not made on the back of a good campaign. For example the Tories have suggested recently that they would apply a unilateral bank levy (in the absence of a global agreement) but would fashion it as a type of insurance scheme.

The idea of using any money raised from such a levy as insurance fails to address the grossly under regulated and risk obsessed financial sector. Indeed the very existence of such insurance could encourage even more dangerous trading within the banking sector rather than throw a little sand into the wheels of the market - no mere peccadillo!

Furthermore, the proposed levy will also not raise the much needed funds that could be used to support the poorest people both in the UK (surely a vote generator) and around the world. Labour are slightly more in tune to this need and the Liberal Democrats are openly supportive but campaigners have no opportunity to rest on their laurels.

The robin hood tax should not be seen by governments as a ceiling - it is a sound proposal thats time has come and one that is the antithesis of insipid legislation.

Earth Hour

This Saturday (27/03/2010) will see hundreds of millions of people around the world show their support once again for climate action by turning their lights off for one hour in recognition of Earth Hour.

Update - Google Stops Censoring

Surprisingly, Google has followed through with its threat to stop self-censorship in China - in violation of a written agreement (though not contractual) it had with the Chinese government.

This does not mean that internet users in China will suddenly gain unrestricted access but rather than the burden now falls on the Chinese state to censor searches.

The ball is most certainly in China's court and it will be interesting to see how it reacts to this move from the internet giant...

Blasphemy in Ireland Challenged

From the beginning of 2010, a ridiculous and anachronistic piece of legislation came into effect in Ireland which made blasphemy a crime punishable by a fine of up to €25,000.

By publishing or uttering any matter that is deemed grossly abusive or insulting to matters sacred by any religion and thereby causing intentional outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, an individual will fall foul of the law. Despite this, groups such as Atheist Ireland sought to challenge the law and were able to easily highlight its ineffectiveness.

Now, the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, has announced that he is proposing a referendum this Autumn to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Irish Constitution in its entirety. As with most referendums in Ireland that have some association with religious beliefs, I am sure that it will be a divisive one. However, it will give Ireland a chance to show itself to be a modern, pluralist society. I hope the people of Ireland grasp the opportunity.

The Language of Action

It is not often that I read an opinion piece by a Minister in the Irish Government and appreciate the intended sentiment. However, a recent article by Micheál Martin in the New York Times is worthy of note due to the language deliberately employed by the Minister.

In an otherwise average piece of writing, some key lines stood out when Minister Martin spoke of Gaza and the ongoing devastating impacts that Operation Cast Lead has resulted in;

- I view the current conditions prevailing for the ordinary population as inhuman and utterly unacceptable, in terms of accepted international standards of human rights.

- I genuinely believe that the medieval siege conditions being imposed on the people of Gaza are unacceptable.

- The people of Gaza are justifiably proud of their heritage...(and) deserve the opportunity to have a future in line with their heritage.

Emotive language is all well and good but too often is let down by subsequent inaction. However, by directly referencing human rights and the heritage of the people of Gaza, Minister Martin is challenging the actions of Israel and its claim to certain occupied lands. It is a welcome move and one that desperately needs to be followed by action - at the very least by other European states.

Finally, it should be pointed out that Minister Martin did also call for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier currently enduring his fourth year of captivity. This is as important an issue as the ones already highlighted and should be addressed with similar speed.

Haiti's Debt Still Not Cancelled

Despite recent media reports, Haiti's debt still is not cancelled. Although the G7 has announced that they will cancel the debts due to them from Haiti, the vast bulk of Haiti's debt is owed to international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the IMF and the World Bank.

Ireland is implicated in the failure to cancel Haiti's debt in its entirety through its membership of the IMF and the World Bank. However, Canada represents Ireland's views at the executive boards of these institutions and has still not insisted that the IFIs cancel Haiti's debt.

Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) are calling on people to pressure the Irish and Canadian governments so that Haiti's debt can be cancelled immediately and unconditionally.

Please send the below text (amended as you wish) to the Canadian Minister for Finance (jflaherty@fin.gc.ca) and the Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs (lawrence.cannon@international.gc.ca) and copy Brian Lenihan (minister@finance.gov.ie), Micheál Martin (minister@dfa.ie) and Peter Power (peter.power@dfa.ie);

Dear Minister Flaherty and Minister Cannon

I am writing to you from my country, Ireland, to express my deep concern about Haiti's unjust debt situation. The Haitian people deserve a debt-free future, not least because much of their debt was accumulated on an illegitimate basis.

Canada, as chair of the constituencies at the World Bank and IMF which represent Ireland, plays a critical role in ensuring Ireland's voice is heard in these institutions. Ireland has a policy of supporting debt cancellation for the most impoverished countries in the world. The Irish government, Irish parliamentarians and the people of Ireland have recently expressed very strong support for the immediate cancellation of Haiti's debts.

Your recent announcement at the G7 Finance Ministers Summit in support of debt cancellation for Haiti is very welcome. Now we must see unconditional, full debt cancellation for Haiti happen in reality.

I urge you to strongly support total, immediate and unconditional debt cancellation for Haiti at the Executive Boards of the World Bank and IMF (US$ 205 million) in addition to the cancellation of the most recent loan of US$ 102 million extended to Haiti by the IMF. I also urge you to use your influence as a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to ensure immediate cancellation of the sizeable debt of US$ 418 million outstanding to the IDB from Haiti.

Haiti needs a debt free start and I urge you to urgently act to ensure this happens now.

Yours sincerely,
[INSERT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS]
(cc Irish Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan T.D; Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin T.D; Irish Minister for State for Overseas Development Peter Power T.D)

Good Aid - Bad News

A BBC investigation has today revealed that millions of dollars intended for victims of the Ethiopian famine of 1984-1985 were instead used by rebel forces to acquire weapons. The investigation claims that €93 million ended up in rebel hands with some given directly to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who was one of the leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) at the time. If Overseas Aid does not reach its intended recipients, it makes no real difference where it eventually ends up. If a corrupt official, a criminal gang or a freedom fighter comes into possession of such money, then delivery of the aid has categorically failed.

Unfortunately, this investigation comes at a time when the OECD (Organisation for Economic Development and Co-Operation) has just revealed that development aid is falling €21 billion short of promises made in 2005. This colossal amount could pay for every child in the world today to go to school - to make just one calculation.

France, Germany, Austria, Portugal and Greece are failing to reach the commitment made by rich countries in 2005 to give a minimum of 0.51% of their national income in 2010 to developing nations. Investigations such as the one carried out by the BBC and the seasonal criticism of Overseas AID - most recently by Dambisa Moyo - makes it all the more difficult to focus public pressure on such countries and ensure that aid promises are kept. However, the problem is not that there is persistent in-depth analyses of the effectiveness of Overseas Aid by those who wish to discredit the system, but rather that there is often a lack of push back by NGOs and other relevant players.

Overseas Aid is vital and it works. Improvements can always be made but the current effectiveness needs to be underlined, bolded and highlighted. There should be no chip on anyone's shoulder about justifying the use of every cent of Overseas Aid and more importantly, the public need to be shown how it helps to make a massive difference in the lives of millions of the most vulnerable people around the world. Quite simply, we need some good aid stories.