In Their Words...
Bill Gates
Speaking at the European Parliament, January 2012
“Even in these challenging economic times, there is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest. Europe has a choice to make.”
Barack Obama
Speaking at College Green in Dublin, May 2011
“This is a nation that met its responsibilities by choosing to apply the lessons of your own past to assume a heavier burden of responsibility on the world stage. And today, a people who once knew the pain of an empty stomach now feed those who hunger abroad.
Ireland is working hand in hand with the United States to make sure that hungry mouths are fed around the world - because we remember those times. We know what crippling poverty can be like, and we want to make sure we're helping others.
You're a people who modernised and can now stand up for those who can't yet stand up for themselves. And this is a nation that met its responsibilities - and inspired the entire world – by choosing to see past the scars of violence and mistrust to forge a lasting peace on this island.”
Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Speaking at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, November 2011
“Cutting aid will not balance your budget, but it will hurt the poorest & most vulnerable on earth.”
Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Speaking at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, November 2011
“Assistance is not charity, it is a smart investment in security and prosperity.”
Salil Shetty
Head of the UN Millennium Campaign, speaking in Dublin in 2010
“The quality of Irish aid is second to none; it is focused on the poorest countries, and the right issues.”
Bill Clinton
Former US President, speaking in Dublin, September 2010
“Those of us who keep up with these things are in awe that the Government and non-Governmental sector in Ireland have continued to care about the welfare of the truly dispossessed around the world while you're going through this horrible crisis ... That ought to make people feel good in this country - that you can know that you did that.”
Alan McQuaid
Chief Economist, Bloxham
“I care because no matter how bad things are here at home, they pale into insignificance compared with the pain and suffering endured in these poor economic countries.”
Dr Micheál Collins
Department of Economics,Trinity College Dublin
“Ireland has a long and proud tradition of assisting the most vulnerable people on this planet.”
“(...) we remain a rich country, one with serious fiscal and economic problems, but not one that is poor enough to walk away from its commitment to the planet’s most deprived populations.”
Fr Shay Cullen
Founder of the People's Recovery Empowerment and Development Assistance Foundation (PREDA)
“ We still have a lot of people who look beyond their own selfish interests and want to help someone more down-and-out than themselves; that's the Irish spirit”
Jan O'Sullivan
Minister of State for Trade and Development
“Irish Aid is Ireland’s official programme for overseas development - it is in effect the Irish people’s aid programme. It is based upon our experiences and values as a nation. These include a commitment to social justice; to solidarity and to equality. Our programme is focused on the poorest people in the poorest countries. And it serves our national interest as a small country in an interconnected world facing increasingly serious global challenges.”
Jan O'Sullivan
Minister of State for Trade and Development
“Irish Aid funds innovative programmes and partnerships to safeguard and improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable communities. More than 80% of our funding goes to the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
We target it rigorously to ensure that hundreds of thousands more people are properly nourished; their children survive and receive an education; those who would otherwise die from HIV and AIDS and other communicable diseases get access to life-saving drugs. And that Ireland is able to respond rapidly and effectively to the suffering caused by natural disasters.”
Lorraine Keane
Broadcaster
“Ireland needs to stop obsessing about its financial woes and be thankful for what we have... I know people in Ireland are struggling. They are worried about their mortgages and educating their children. But that doesn't compare to the suffering you see here [in Haiti].”
Micheal O’Muircheartaigh
Sports Commentator, Teacher, Author and Patron of Just Forests
“I care because it is always worth remembering that no matter how economic conditions may deteriorate temporarily here in Ireland they are infinitely worse in the areas where Dóchas members toil. That is why the aid given is so vital for progress.”
Eamon Gilmore
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, addressing the UN General Assembly, September 2011
“The global financial and economic crisis presents major challenges for all of us in our efforts to maintain solidarity with developing countries. Aid budgets are under significant pressure. But we will not turn our backs on the world’s poorest. In Ireland, despite the economic difficulties we are facing, and because we recognise our moral obligation and our interests, values and principles as a member of the international community, development will remain at the heart of our foreign policy. We remain committed to the UN target of providing 0.7% of GNP to Official Development Assistance. We will continue to work to achieve the target.”
John Kioli Kalua and Mrs. Cecilia Kibe Muthoni
Trócaire’s partners from the Kenya Climate Change Working Group
“We have seen the impact of the Irish Aid Programme here in Kenya, through the work of Irish aid agencies and the Irish Embassy, we are being supported to achieve our development objectives.”
Hillary Clinton
US Secretary of State, Speaking with Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, March 2010
“I want to commend Ireland for its commitment to devoting 20 percent of its assistance budget to meet the urgent challenge of global hunger. This is a priority for both of our governments, but it’s a historical passion and cause for Ireland.
Ireland is already helping to increase food security in Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and other places. They are targeting maternal and infant malnutrition. Ireland’s great famine looms large in the history of both of our countries, and we understand what a destabilizing and destructive force hunger still is in too many places around our globe. And I appreciate, particularly during these very difficult economic times, the commitment and generosity of the Irish people.”
Hillary Clinton
US Secretary of State, Speaking at the launch of 1000 days: Change a Life, Change the Future, September 2010
“The Irish people and the Irish Government knows what hunger means from their own history and, as a result, they have been really the world’s leader in working to harness public and private resources in the fight against hunger, and now undernutrition.
This is a nation that met its responsibilities by choosing to apply the lessons of your own past to assume a heavier burden of responsibility on the world stage. And today, a people who once knew the pain of an empty stomach now feed those who hunger abroad.
Ireland is working hand in hand with the United States to make sure that hungry mouths are fed around the world - because we remember those times. We know what crippling poverty can be like, and we want to make sure we're helping others.
You're a people who modernised and can now stand up for those who can't yet stand up for themselves. And this is a nation that met its responsibilities - and inspired the entire world – by choosing to see past the scars of violence and mistrust to forge a lasting peace on this island.”