Dóchas Welcomes Announcement of New Minister for International Development and Looks Forward to Working Together

Dóchas, the Association of Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations, has welcomed the announcement of the appointment of Colm Brophy as the new Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for the Diaspora and International Development and looks forward to working closely with him to ensure Ireland maintains its ongoing commitment to international development and global justice.

Speaking of the announcement, CEO of Dóchas, Suzanne Keatinge congratulated the newly appointed Minister of State and said that she was looking forward to working with him during his term of office.

She said “I would firstly like to thank Ciaran Cannon for all of his passion and energy at showing the impact of Irish Aid and Dóchas members in challenging inequality, injustice and climate change. We now look forward to collaborating closely with Minister Brophy to ensure that this vital work continues.”

“The Programme for Government sets out an important and ambitious programme for overseas development cooperation, including a commitment that Ireland reaches the target to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on overseas aid by 2030.  Maintaining this investment in Irish Aid’s programme is more critical than ever as we strive to reach the furthest behind first."

"It is important to remember that the scale and impact of COVID-19 is only emerging now in many of the countries in which we work. This is not just a health crisis but also an economic, political and social one. Dóchas, as a network, is committed to working with the newly formed government to build on Ireland’s great reputation to show solidarity with the most vulnerable across the globe.”

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