Minister of State Kitt announces €20m in support for the work of Irish missionaries
Michael Kitt TD, Minister of State for Overseas Development, will tonight announce €20 million in funding for Irish Missionaries in 2008. The Irish Aid funding will support the important work of over 800 missionary personnel in over 60 developing countries.
Minister Kitt will make the announcement at an event at the new Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. The event will mark the contribution of Irish missionaries to tackling poverty in some of the world’s poorest countries. Speaking at the event, the Minister will emphasise:
“Irish Aid values strongly our long standing partnership with Irish NGO's and missionaries, who enjoy such an excellent reputation both domestically and internationally. We recognise that without this partnership it would be impossible to reach the objectives of the Irish Aid programme.
As Ireland’s official development assistance has expanded, so too has the funding available to NGO's and missionaries. We have also significantly increased the funding for missionaries' development work from €16m in 2007 to €20 million in 2008. We are working with these organisations as they plan and adapt for the future in a changing development environment.”
Note for editors:
The Irish Missionary and Resource Service (IMRS) was established in July 2004 by members of the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) the umbrella body for Catholic missionary organisations, lay and religious, in order to build a more strategic partnership, facilitate dialogue and strengthen the relationship between Government and the missionary development community. Since then, Irish Aid support for the IMRS has risen from €12m in 2005 to €20m this year.
Irish missionary organisations are actively engaged in the delivery of a wide range of development programmes and projects including:
Health Care – Primary and Curative
HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and mitigation of impact
Formal and informal education
Capacity-building of local people and communities
Care of the Earth and its resources
Agriculture and Food Security
Humanitarian Relief Work
Human Rights, Justice and Peace Programmes
Conflict Resolution
Members of the IMRS, supported by Irish Aid, work in various countries in Africa, Asia, Central America, Latin America, South America and Eastern Europe. This allocation covers personnel co-financing, the former Missionary Development Fund for small capital projects, the costs of the Specialist Service Overseas (SSO) and an administration element (less than 4%). Funding to the IMRS in previous years was as follows: 2007: €16m, 2006: €14m and 2005: €12m.
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