Challenges aplenty for Govt to deliver on its 'Better World' policy writes RTENewsPaulC
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is pushing hard to increase Ireland's diplomatic footprint and influence - and a key part of this was advanced on Thursday: a new policy on international development called "A Better World".
Slipping into the language of the UN's sustainable development goals, the Taoiseach said Ireland's objective was "to leave nobody behind, and reach the furthest behind first." Trócaire's CEO, Caoimhe de Barra, also welcomed it in her statement, saying the list priorities of it "reflect the major challenges facing the world's poorest people".
So the new international development policy therefore fits into the overall plan. But for there to be a synergy between those objectives, Ireland has to deliver on its foreign aid plans. The problem is that Ireland has a particularly poor record of tackling climate change at home. Even the Taoiseach himself admitted that the country has been a "laggard" in this regard.
To achieve that goal, Ireland will have to increase overseas aid spending by an estimated €115m per year for the next decade. The spending of public monies abroad is not the only aspect of this policy which is controversial. The role of the Irish Defence Forces is another. He added: "These are parts of the world that need intervention from peacekeepers because they are dangerous. That is why we train and invest in our military in the way that we do - specifically train them for peacekeeping. And I am confident we have the expertise to be able to ensure they are as safe as they can be in challenging environments."
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