Trocaire welcomes Irish government's White Paper on aid

Trocaire has welcomed the government's new White Paper on Irish Aid, the first ever of its kind, that outlines the key principles behind Ireland's overseas aid and how it should be delivered. The White Paper sets out how the government intends to tackle the challenges of global poverty and injustice. Trocaire Director Justin Kilcullen said he was delighted to see that a new Inter-Departmental Committee on Development would be established and regular debates on development would take place in both the Dail and the Seanad. He also welcomed the emphasis placed on the role of UN in the White Paper, and the fact that a dedicated unit for conflict analysis and resolution would be set up at the Department of Foreign Affairs and linked with Irish Aid. "I welcome the Inter-Departmental Committee and the reshaping of the Foreign Affairs Committee," Mr Kilcullen said. "This White Paper contains some very positive initiatives and offers a platform for the reshaping of the aid programme. Ireland has a chance to take the lead here and build a coherent aid policy across all government departments, something Trocaire called for in its submission to the consultation process." Mr Kilcullen said he was glad the government had committed itself to tackling corruption and to better governance and to continued high level engagement with Irish agencies. "By 2012 the government will be spending around "1.5 billion annually on overseas aid. This programme is becoming an increasingly important part of the government's foreign policy and it's important that it's transparent and sustainable. "In a world where millions of children go to bed hungry and millions more are unable to survive the most basic diseases it's clear that we need to step up our response. Trocaire looks forward to working with the government and the Minister for Overseas Development to develop this programme." For more information on Trocaire's submission to the White Paper consultation, log onto www.trocaire.org