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New Policy for International Development launched

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and Minister of State for Trade & Development Joe Costello today launched Ireland’s new policy for international development.

 

One World, One Future: Ireland’s Policy for International Development sets out the vision, goals and priorities for the Government’s overseas aid programme over the coming four years.

The key elements include:

  • Fostering sustainable economic growth in our partner countries to support their exit from aid and bring increased trade opportunities for Ireland.
  • A new focus on countries recovering from conflict and instability, including a commitment to include Sierra Leone as one of Ireland’s nine Partner Countries.
  • The launch of a new Volunteering Initiative to harness the experience of Irish people and institutions.
  • Responding to the harmful impacts of climate change in poor countries becomes a core priority; a commitment to build on Ireland’s leadership role in the fight against global hunger.
  • Openness, transparency and accountability – with all aid data to be published under the internationally agreed format by 2015;
  • Promoting and protecting human rights, and addressing inequality, including gender inequality, becomes a key goal.
  • A whole-of-government approach to international development.  

Launching the policy today, the Tánaiste said:

This is about Irish values. We have never been a people who could look the other way, and the Irish people can be extremely proud of the difference that we make to the lives of millions of families who struggle to survive on less than €1.25 a day. Although times are difficult at home, we stand by the children struggling to reach their fifth birthday in a world where 7.5 milllion children die before this age every year. And we stand in solidarity with the subsistence farmer, whose crops have failed because of drought and whose family faces a perilous future. We do this because of our sense of justice and compassion, born of a history of famine, supression and conflict. And we do it because it is the right thing to do in an increasingly inter-connected world.

Minister Costello said :

Today, I am calling on NGOs, missionaries, diaspora organisations, the third level sector, the private sector, volunteers and others to work with us in this pursuit of a more just and sustainable world.

Read the full press release here.