Hopefully the money is put to good use though I’m not in favor of the likes of Christian Aid etc receiving money from the state / tax-payer. Humanitarianism is not their only agenda.

The problems in DRC are of a different paradigm to the economic issues Ireland has. There can be no relativism here. People may not have a pot to piss in, but there is a state and donor funded infrastructure to help ensure all Irish people have access to at least the basics – there is a public health system, clean water, relatively secure society.

The people targetted for the benefit of the projects funded by these state donations would swap their problems for any Irishman’s negative equity in a heartbeat.

am i the only one that thinks it wrong we help other countrys but we dont help our own what happened to charity starts in the home

funding wars is all we are doing

Barbara, please don’t donate items: shipping them over costs more than they are worth. Most often, buying the relief goods locally is cheaper, and has the added benefit of creating jobs locally too. See http://www.HowYouCanHelp.ie for more information.

Shame on the government we borrow money to give to other countries so our ministers can massage their egos. All the while people are taking their own lives in this country because they are so poor and indebted. Why don’t the IMF make our govt cop on and stop wasting the money they loan us.

The basic problem as i see it is that a lot of people see Congolese as ‘other’ and not as their brothers and sisters. Until the planet is seen as one common home of the human race we will see these attitudes. After all, what is the nation state but notional lines drawn on the map of the planet. By the ‘charity begins at home’ logic we have more duty of concern for people in Monaghan than for people in Fermanagh!

What in hell are they thinking!! We are being crucfied at home with taxes and levys and they are giving away money like the Celtic tiger is still roaring.
Africa is mess. Not our fault or our problem. Africa by rights should be the Richest continent on the planet but due to Corruption,Tribal conflict and Mis-management its the poorest. And you lot of commies dont start blaming the old imperial powers because the natives have more than enough time to get their house in order since they left.

We need to sort out our own country first before we sort out others it’s common sense

Money never goes to the needy. For every $1 donated to a UN agency a report of 80 cents went on admin costs. Recent scam with regards Irish foreign aid should serve as a warning.Charity bandwagon in full flow.
Cut backs due to austerity the Irish people should come first.Charity begins at home.

Some of comments on this page are depressing. People in Ireland spend 2 billion euro on gambling, and yet when our Govt. offer 2 million to give water, shelter and food to dispossessed humans all ye can say is it ain’t our problem? Are ye that self absorbed? Our population was halved in the 19th Century. But what do we remember? The people that helped. Native Americans, the Sultan of Oman, the workers all across the UK, people who gave money to help ease our suffering. People who had little, but knew that they could afford to help, and that this help would go along way. Have some perspective on life, for god’s sake.

This is more an article than a comment, but there you go….

1. “We should fix the problems in Ireland first.”

Ireland will always have problems. People will always be homeless, hungry or in need of help. There are organizations (some of whom are partially funded by the Irish state) to address this such as St Vincent de Paul, The Samaritans, Simon Community. People fall through the cracks in society in the wealthiest of countries, if we were to wait until everyone single person fully fed, employed and housed before a penny was sent to assisting in developing countries, that penny would never be sent. Less than 1% of Ireland’s GNP is distributed as foreign aid.

2. “All of the money gets stolen by corrupt officials before it reaches the people who need it.”

If this were the case then no projects would be completed. It is a fact that thousands of projects funded by Overseas Development Assistance are completed every year. The successful completion of such projects tends not to make much an impression in our national media – stories of the rare occasions when funds are misappropriated are far more appetizing for the media. It’s hard to say why, but it probably has something to do with people enjoying having their preconceptions reinforced for them and the media knowing that these kind of stories always generate heat.

3. “There was a load of money stolen to pay for fighter planes in Uganda, why should we be paying for that?”

We’re not paying for that. This theft was identified by an auditor who’s position was partly funded through Irish Aid (the section within the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for managing Ireland’s Official Development Assistance). The money was later returned.

4. “Ireland is broke. We are borrowing money and then giving it away.”

There is a political aspect to this in so far as Ireland is committed to the UN Millennium Project target of contributing 0.7% of GNP to Official Development Assistance. Only a handful of countries – mainly Scandinavian – have achieved this so far. The agreement was made in very different global economic circumstances. There is perhaps an element of being a good global citizen about it. Ireland seems to have a reputation as a nation that will dig in to its pocket for the greater global good. There is also a pragmatic motivation beneath the veneer of a good gesture perhaps – that it is strategic international politics to accentuate any positive perceptions that the international community has of Ireland. To give a little when you only have a little to give can plant a very positive seed of perception – not that I’d agree with such a motivation for overseas funding, but I’m not naive enough to think its not a factor. Plus there are potential mutually beneficial trading opportunities in developing countries which the state would like to be well positioned to take advantage of. Ireland is also in the spotlight with the EU Presidency, and you’ll note that this project in the DRC is a United Nations managed fund, again its about how you hold yourself when the hat is passed round and all eyes are on you. There’s more to it than Irish state altruism. It’s a cost of doing business for foreign policy.

5. “Look at the money that the big charity CEO’s earn. Why don’t they donate that to charity?”

That’s a fair question. But becoming CEO, or – a similar position of high responsibility – of a major Non Government Organization takes a great amount of expertise, experience, and a broad skill set. Presumably salaries are set high to attract the most able candidates.There has to be a pragmatic incentive if you are trying to lure talented individuals to switch from another sector where they already have significant financial commitments due to their existing salary. In most cases I expect that the highly paid staff members of major NGOs would be better remunerated elsewhere. You’ll find at the lower levels of most NGOs that positions are very modestly paid despite many entry level positions requiring a degree to even get invited to an interview.

6. “There’s enormous overheads in charities, that’s where most of the money goes.”

There are significant overheads to every major international operation, yet Concern report that over 90% of their money is spent on Relief and Development, less than 7% on Fundraising, 2% on Development Education & Advocacy, leaving 0.5% spent on ‘Governance”.

7 “The populations are booming in Africa yet we keep sending money?”

Funny what happens when you improve medical facilities and work to alleviate famine. If the new pope could get real about contraception it would certainly help with the demands of population growth outstripping infrastructure in some regions.

AND FINALLY! …..

Aid is not the sole answer to the problems of the developing world. Trade relations misleadingly described as ‘free trade’ keep developing markets insulated from the free market as agricultural subsidies neutralize the comparative advantage of cheaper production that many developing nations would enjoy. There are corrupt tax regimes which ensure that some multinational companies extract natural resources without paying the tax which would develop the national infrastructure and allow some of these “resource rich but regime poor” nations to stabilize.

That Ireland contributes to development throughout a period of great economic adversity is one of the few reasons to be proud of the modern state. Our adversity knows no comparison with those living in failed states who have no number to call when the gunmen come to town.

how does one make donations? i’d really like to donate blankets and bedding…is that possible?

Good and generous attempt by Irish government to help Congo. One thing worries me immensely. What ever happened to the million or so Rwandan Hutus who fled to eastern Congo at the end of the Rwandan civil war/genocide. I would presume many of them are still in camps there, of whom many would be open to recruitment by extremists. This would be very dangerous for the fragile peace now enjoyed by the Rwandan people. Or is the UN planning on ignoring future problems in Rwanda as they did the genocide

A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland
From Being Aburden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public.
By Jonathan Swift (1729)

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

AND WE ALL KNOW WHERE THESE MONIES REALLY GO?!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would strongly feel that for the next few years that we should stop giving aid until we as a country are in a better position financially. Those that disagree…nothing is stopping you from donating directly from your earnings!

While irish mental health jobs are few, and the oz planes are many.

Absolutely no money should go on overseas aid when the Government are penalizing the tax payers to the current extent..

Good to see the ultra left wing pinkos like Liam are out in force.. More than happy to distribute the hard earned taxes of fellow country men to foreign aid… Perhaps Liam should hop on a plane at his own expense and fly over to offer his services in the good fight..!

Get real you idiot.. These countries make their own problems and they should fix their own problems.. For far too long these issues arise in Africa and we all start wringing our hands and dishing out billions in aid that is usually stolen or abused by corrupt officials..

Enough..!!

?1.8 million wasted on the leaking pyramid scheme NGOs. I dont want them to have our money.

It would make more sense to put that money to good use in this country first!

I’m not being
Insensitive but I really couldnt give a shit what happens in foreign countrys we have major problems here we should be lucking after our own people first and getting this country up and running again then when everything is in order then give those countrys money or supplies that need help… Africa’s population geta bigger and bigger every year its ment to double by 2027 so are we ment to borrow more and more money every year money that we dont have and will have to pay back on interest tax layers money……….. Nothing but gangsters running our country at the moment

It’s devastating what’s going on in Africa but lets get real here. People in our own country are suffering, loosing their homes, taking their lives, leaving their country, struggling to feed themselves… The list is endless and the cuts in jobs/wages and added taxes keep coming. Who is looking after the Irish that are suffering?? Certainly not those in power. As others have said, charity begins at home. Look after your own first and if there’s anything left, by all means send it where it’s needed. I wonder would our government donate any of their Own cash to overseas aid??? I think not, how dare they decide to use Ours!!

obviously the Irish government has never heard the saying ” charity begins at home”. Here is a thought how about they use that money to sort out the mess in ireland, but that’s too much like common sense. probably more interested in looking like the big I am to the Germans and Americans.

Good on you Liam.. Volunteer wherever you like, but it does not make the rest of us liable to assist these nations.. Refugee camps are not our responsibility.. The problem in Ireland was caused by people living beyond their means.. You are correct.. But perhaps the other nations should not have poured their cash into Ireland and then the problem would not exist..

Let Ireland sort out its issues and Africa theirs..!

Train a man/woman. Handouts are useless

Zaire it’s gonna go to a good cause

What poor old Liam Hogan does not get is that the vast majority of Irish people now want their taxes used at home.. They are not interested in your desires to help others over the needs of your fellow country men.

It’s Africa’s problem, not ours.. If you want to help them go and do so..!