Could A billion in foreign aid be out to better use?

J

Jimbobp

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I read recently that the Irish government contributes close to a billion every year in foreign aid. This might sound stupid but could that money be put to the following better use:

The government asks out of work tradesmen, nurses etc to register for a foreign work scheme. The workmen are sent to the areas that the government are contributing to but instead of giving the money to a NGO or a country with a lunatic as a dictator, the government pays a certain amount into the workmans Irish account or to his family back in Ireland until the work is done, with the following benefits:
  • The people in the needy areas still get the help they need and will have qualified, trained people to help.
  • The billion euros is kept in the Irish economy and will help us push through the recession.
Obviously this won't work for all that the government commit to but could it work for the rest?
 
It's closer to €754 million. The vast majority of what's listed on the Irish Aid Website looks like it's basic things like food, immunisation, school books and so on.

If we were going to parachute in overpaid Irish workers into third world holes the locals would probably get very little benefit. If we want to make savings here it would be more honest to just explicitly cut the overseas aid budget.
 
The countries that receive foreign aid have their own nurses, plumbers, carpenters. It would be cheaper to pay them locally.

Foreign direct aid is a tough subject. Especially when we can't afford to vaccinate our own children against cancer for 10 million euro per year. Even though I think some people have it tough here. It is no where as near the extreme poverty and suffering you have in third world countries. I think we have a moral duty to help our third world brothers but I think it would be cheaper to finance a coup to get the basket case dictators out of power and put in a UN force. This would allow countries to be free to reach their potential.
 
That reminds me of the comment made by John O’Shea of Goal that the only organisation that could solve the problems of Sub-Saharan Africa is the U.S. Marines.
 
Jimbobp said:
I read recently that the Irish government contributes close to a billion every year in foreign aid. This might sound stupid but could that money be put to the following better use:
Click to expand...



Given that it has made little or no difference to the third world in the past ( some would argue the dependcy culture has made things worse ), and given we are tens of billions in debt and borrowing tens of billions annually ,I think its a scandal the govt is further impoverishering our grandchildren by borrowing this one billion extra.
 
Purple said:
That reminds me of the comment made by John O’Shea of Goal that the only organisation that could solve the problems of Sub-Saharan Africa is the U.S. Marines.
Click to expand...

I think the last thing Sub-Saharan Africa needs is the US marines. The region has enough problems without adding to them.

Ruam
 

I think the scandal would be to do nothing. We really have no conception of the idea of impoverishment. We are as far removed from the poverty of the developing world as is humanly possible.
 
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