Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid set out clearly the basis and priorities for Ireland’s official aid programme which is working on behalf of the Irish people to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. The programme has been recognised internationally for its focus on poverty and hunger, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and also for its leadership in making aid more effective. The review of the White Paper on Irish Aid is one of the commitments contained in the programme for Government. We wanted to carry out such a review to examine the progress being made by our aid programme, to assess the changed context, globally and here at home, and to set out our future priorities as the international community considers the framework for international development after 2015, the target date for the millennium development goals.

A very vibrant public consultation was undertaken for the review between February and April of last year, which was overseen by the independent Irish Aid expert advisory group. We met more than 1,000 people across Ireland and in our partner countries, and received a large number of written submissions. We also undertook consultation across Departments and in various committees in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Since then, we have embarked on a process of considering carefully the contributions made during the consultation period as well as the available evidence on what works best. Based on this we have finalised a new policy on Ireland’s role in global development. This policy will be submitted for Government approval in the near future.

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