suspend our overseas aid and spend the money in Ireland

funky.monkey

I think the government should look at suspending our overseas aid budget, and use that money here in Ireland instead. It seems daft that we are borrowing this vast sum of money from abroad at high interest rates, and then sending it straight out of the country to other countries. Why not temporarily stop the overseas aid which seems to be hundreds of millions of euros, and use that money to sort out the Irish economy first.
Its right that we should help the 3rd world, but only if we can afford to, and right now we can't.

SC024

I agree, It's absolutely crazy...

1huge1

Ya I see where your coming from, and while I agree it should be cut somewhat I don't agree it should be cut altogether, no matter how bad you think we are here, the 3rd world countries are being affected in a much worse way, people are starving etc and I don't tihnk we should turn our backs completely on that.

Barname

by sending our money there we are manipulating the local market prices.

Our genorosity is actually making things worse for the unfortunates while egotistical white people slap themselves on their own backs.

end foreign direct aid now.

Lets set up Water Finders, the army can run it, stop this gap year crap, 18 months compulsary service, Ireland Inc can deliver water sources to drought hit areas.

Water - the key to life.

It would be a superior way for us to aid the world

No more easy cash for NGOs of duplicity

Rented Mule

So by this rationale, all foreign companies invested in Ireland should pull their companies and jobs out of Ireland and invest in their countries.

Can't wait to see the 80s again.

Barname

Rented Mule wrote: »

So by this rationale, all foreign companies invested in Ireland should pull their companies and jobs out of Ireland and invest in their countries.

Can't wait to see the 80s again.

no, there is a difference between direct aid and investment

NGOs waste money - our money

The_Minister

I've moved this to the Politics forum, as the question is more political then directly economic. If the mods disagree feel free to toss it back.

deadhead13

The overseas aid budget has already been reduced from 0.56% of GNP to 0.53%. As GNP falls, so will overseas aid.

SC024

It's still to high... Whats the budget deficit as a percentage of GNP?

ionix5891

i would rather the money go in aid for good deeds than be poured into banking black holes

Gyalist

The majority of foreign aid is spent in the donor country anyway. Don't believe the headline figure.

TomRooney

deadhead13 wrote: »

The overseas aid budget has already been reduced from 0.56% of GNP to 0.53%. As GNP falls, so will overseas aid.

whoa a whole 0.03 of a percent...!!!

aid from ireland should be stopped immediately, we cant fund our own hospitals, infrastructure, or general economy.

i would prefer to see 10 million euro spent on securing anti cancer vaccinations for the youth of today than sent to a foriegn country to be spent on arms by some african warlord.
not to mention what the other many millions could pay for.

ynotdu

funky.monkey wrote: »

I think the government should look at suspending our overseas aid budget, and use that money here in Ireland instead. It seems daft that we are borrowing this vast sum of money from abroad at high interest rates, and then sending it straight out of the country to other countries. Why not temporarily stop the overseas aid which seems to be hundreds of millions of euros, and use that money to sort out the Irish economy first.
Its right that we should help the 3rd world, but only if we can afford to, and right now we can't.

Sure now who would have seen that one coming ?

single out the most vunerable on the planet as a measure of first resort ! :mad:

deadhead13

TomRooney wrote: »

aid from ireland should be stopped immediately.

800 million people face stravation and malnutrition in the world today. Millions of children die each year from easily preventable diseases.

Yes, Ireland is going through a bad recession, but no one will strave to death. The economy will recover.

Ireland is 6th highest donor in the world on a per capita basis - which I think is something to be proud of. There are of issues with corruption and there is a debate about how best to distribute the aid. But whether you like it or not, aid from Ireland will not be stopped. There may however be a further reduction in the upcoming budget.

How much has Ireland recieved from the EU Structural and Cohesion fund? - 17 billion euros since 1973.

TomRooney

ynotdu wrote: »

Sure now who would have seen that one coming ?

single out the most vunerable on the planet as a measure of first resort ! :mad:

so that is Irelands responsibility now is it....:rolleyes:

TomRooney

deadhead13 wrote: »

800 million people face stravation and malnutrition in the world today. Millions of children die each year from easily preventable diseases.

Yes, Ireland is going through a bad recession, but no one will strave to death. The economy will recover.

Ireland is 6th highest donor in the world on a per capita basis - which I think is something to be proud of. There are of issues with corruption and there is a debate about how best to distribute the aid. But whether you like it or not, aid from Ireland will not be stopped. There may however be a further reduction in the upcoming budget.

How much has Ireland recieved from the EU Structural and Cohesion fund? - 17 billion euros since 1973.

firstly it is not the problem of the irish tax payer if 800 million people are in trouble in some far off land, it is not our fault nor our responsibility, as for the EU giving us money, your are misinformed on this subject, as the EU has benefitted from Irelands membership far more than Ireland ever has, the irish government have signed over fishing rights to the EU valued at over 50 billion euro yes 50 billion, not to mention letting other eu countrys flood our agricultural markety with cheap produce worth billions in trade to irish farmers, we have given the EU over 5 times more than they ever gave us, wake up and smell the shamrocks.

ynotdu

TomRooney wrote: »

firstly it is not the problem of the irish tax payer if 800 million people are in trouble in some far off land, it is not our fault nor our responsibility, as for the EU giving us money, your are misinformed on this subject, as the EU has benefitted from Irelands membership far more than Ireland ever has, the irish government have signed over fishing rights to the EU valued at over 50 billion euro yes 50 billion, not to mention letting other eu countrys flood our agricultural markety with cheap produce worth billions in trade to irish farmers, we have given the EU over 5 times more than they ever gave us, wake up and smell the shamrocks.

Ah sure Irelands famine was no other countries responsibility either,as They saw it !

SeanW

Actually Egypt sent us a famine relief ship loaded with grain - only to have the ship hijacked by the Crown navy - not long after the crew had witnessed other foodstuffs being loaded onto export ships by the ton in Irish ports. :mad:

Nodin

TomRooney wrote: »

so that is Irelands responsibility now is it....:rolleyes:

Well, if the world were to adopt the 'divil take the hindmost' attitude, we wouldn't have gotten into the EU, let alone been given aid.

Theres plenty of money to reward failed Bank executives here....Fingleton alone has a pension of 27.5 million. Then theres Drumm, Fitzpatrick etc. And of course theres the top earners paying less than the top tax rate, and some paying well below the bottom. If you want to wield a hatchet, why not swing it at them, and not the least well off of the world?

Scofflaw

TomRooney wrote: »

firstly it is not the problem of the irish tax payer if 800 million people are in trouble in some far off land, it is not our fault nor our responsibility, as for the EU giving us money, your are misinformed on this subject, as the EU has benefitted from Irelands membership far more than Ireland ever has, the irish government have signed over fishing rights to the EU valued at over 50 billion euro yes 50 billion, not to mention letting other eu countrys flood our agricultural markety with cheap produce worth billions in trade to irish farmers, we have given the EU over 5 times more than they ever gave us, wake up and smell the shamrocks.

If that was even remotely true, then 35 years of EU membership would have made us poorer than when we joined.

regards,
Scofflaw

livvy

TomRooney wrote: »

firstly it is not the problem of the irish tax payer if 800 million people are in trouble in some far off land, it is not our fault nor our responsibility, as for the EU giving us money, your are misinformed on this subject, as the EU has benefitted from Irelands membership far more than Ireland ever has, the irish government have signed over fishing rights to the EU valued at over 50 billion euro yes 50 billion, not to mention letting other eu countrys flood our agricultural markety with cheap produce worth billions in trade to irish farmers, we have given the EU over 5 times more than they ever gave us, wake up and smell the shamrocks.

I can see where you are coming from and this is certainly not our but as human beings living in a developed country - I do think we have a moral responsibility to assist where possible..... Ensuring a child is fed or has access to basic medical aid surely are higher on the priority list than what ever luxury items we are forsaking at present. We have had a fairly short period of hardship, not many 09 on the road, but are we really starving ?

SC024

livvy wrote: »

I can see where you are coming from and this is certainly not our but as human beings living in a developed country - I do think we have a moral responsibility to assist where possible..... Ensuring a child is fed or has access to basic medical aid surely are higher on the priority list than what ever luxury items we are forsaking at present. We have had a fairly short period of hardship, not many 09 on the road, but are we really starving ?

I can see your side of the argument and its a very valid argument but I believe we reaLLY NEED to get our own house in order, that includes sorting out the cost of running the government, In the short term cut the aid budget, then cut the cost of running the country, Then and Only then can we improve the aid budget... + These people need to learn how to fend for themselves... Otherwise they'll get to accustomed to getting free handouts and some of them will be on the streets begging here in a few years...

jimmmy

funky.monkey wrote: »

I think the government should look at suspending our overseas aid budget, and use that money here in Ireland instead. It seems daft that we are borrowing this vast sum of money from abroad at high interest rates, and then sending it straight out of the country to other countries.

I agree 100% Especially (A) when some of the countries we are borrowing it from ( the oil producing countries of the middle east ) are closer to these charity case countries. (B) so little of it ends up with those who need it most in those countries.

P. Breathnach

TomRooney wrote: »

firstly it is not the problem of the irish tax payer if 800 million people are in trouble in some far off land...

Yes it is our problem. It's called humanity.

... the irish government have signed over fishing rights to the EU valued at over 50 billion euro yes 50 billion...

That's bollocks, and you probably know that it is.

r0nanf

Is this what we're reduced to now? "F*ck them, sure we've enough on our own plate". It's so easy when you can just turn off the tv isn't it?

This attitude makes me sick, sure we still had enough money in the October budget to give €70m in prize funds to the dog & horse industry. There is no doubt that we are in deep water here, but to simply forget altogether about those who have nothing is a damning indictment of this society as a whole.

noodler

Sickening state of affairs by the OP and all those who agree with him.

Whatever worries we have finanically, nobody here will starve or die of aids.

Disgraceful. I for one will keep sending 8e a month abroad
(and hop the government continues doing they're bit), despite the hard times we are facing here that figure is still pretty much the price of a lunh in Dublin's City Centre.

suas

For those that think the Overseas Development Aid budget has been cut enough - there is an appeal to the government to protect it from further cuts and you can add your signature to the letter if you wish.

http://suas.ie/dochasletter.html

We write to you, on behalf of over 1,000,000 supporters in Ireland, to urge you to apply these principles in protecting the world’s poorest people from a crisis they did not create.

Ireland’s overseas aid makes real and positive differences to the lives of millions of people across the developing world. Our aid programme is recognised internationally for its quality and its focus on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities. Aid from Ireland embodies our commitment to fairness and equity. Ireland’s pledges on overseas aid are made as a percentage of our national income. As the economy contracts, our overseas aid also contracts.

However, over the last 8 months, the Government has gone beyond this built-in reduction and cut the overseas aid budget three times, by the equivalent of 17% of the original budget for 2009. This is a far deeper cut than has been incurred in any other area of public spending to date.

Moreover, those cuts will have a direct and immediate impact on the poorest people on earth. The World Bank predicts that up to 400,000 more children a year may die if the global economic crisis persists.

Taoiseach, in recognition of the significant cuts already made, we urge you to ensure that the overseas aid budget is protected from further cuts.

ynotdu

SeanW wrote: »

Actually Egypt sent us a famine relief ship loaded with grain - only to have the ship hijacked by the Crown navy - not long after the crew had witnessed other foodstuffs being loaded onto export ships by the ton in Irish ports. :mad:

SeanW I would not doubt what You have said there for a minuate.

I also hear through folklore that a native American tribe heard about the Irish famine and sent to Ireland what little they could send.Does Anybody know if this is true ? Logisticly how did they do it ? Fascinating if true.

ynotdu

suas wrote: »

For those that think the Overseas Development Aid budget has been cut enough - there is an appeal to the government to protect it from further cuts and you can add your signature to the letter if you wish.

http://suas.ie/dochasletter.html

suas thank You for that and good for You !

ynotdu

noodler hey great to see You not wanting to be a part of a navel gazing,We had no part in the greed Lynch mobs that are trying to blame everyone but themselves for the mess,not even those who spent like no tomorrow,may,be once again there will be no tomorrow for lost generations thanks to the greed of individuals with minds of their own who said lets go with the flow.Hey people stand up and admit If You personally bought into a culture of greed,Darn I maxed out My credit card better ask that nice person in the bank can I have another one ?

ynotdu

SC024 wrote: »

I can see your side of the argument and its a very valid argument but I believe we reaLLY NEED to get our own house in order, that includes sorting out the cost of running the government, In the short term cut the aid budget, then cut the cost of running the country, Then and Only then can we improve the aid budget... + These people need to learn how to fend for themselves... Otherwise they'll get to accustomed to getting free handouts and some of them will be on the streets begging here in a few years...

These people is such a condescending way to describe ANY group :mad:

Ironic laugh at those who proudly sing the fields of Athenry but never investigate Travellions corn and his criteria for handing out corn to Irish(those people as He called us)