I was looking at something about Ireland’s overseas aid agency and came across this snippet in one of its factsheets:

In 2007, total ODA (official development assistance) will exceed €813 million. In real terms this will mean that in 2007 every Irish citizen will contribute through their taxes approximately €200 assisting some of the poorest countries in the world. This places Ireland as the sixth most generous donor country in the world.

Does €200 really count as generous? Given our nation’s wealth — even with a slowdown in the economy — you’d think we’d be able to offer more.

The one caveat I offer is that this government aid. I don’t have a figure for how much Irish people donated through non-State charities.

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