ODA target and implementing SDG's should be a priority

Ireland should continue to play an active and effective part in promoting genuine development in the Global South and to ensure that all of Ireland’s policies are consistent with such development.  In order to do this Ireland should now move towards being a leader in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reaching the ODA target of 0.7% GDP by 2021.

The ODA budget is an allocation to the poorest people on the planet and Ireland should now follow the good example of several other EU countries, including the UK and raised ODA to the UN target of 0.7% by 2021. A key issue that Ireland should focus on now is how progress on these and all other policy issues should be measured.  Growth in GDP is not a good measure of real progress. Creating a sustainable Ireland and a sustainable world requires the development of new indicators that measure environmental, economic and social sustainability as well as happiness and well-being. 

In the run up to the election Social Justice Ireland has produced a short briefing on the Global South outlining some key challenges and policy recommendations.  To read more on this issue please click here.