Substantial majorities of young people and adults believe the Government is spending too little on development aid, according to a new survey.
The survey, compiled for the Development Education For Youth organisation, (DEFY) found that about 70 to 72 per cent of those surveyed in each age category feel that Ireland should meet or exceed the UN target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product, or three-quarters of a penny out of every pound of national income.
The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, is expected to make a strong attack on Government aid policy when he launches the survey in Dublin today.
Challenging the conventional image of young people as apathetic, selfish or disempowered, the survey instead shows high levels of interest in justice and development and a continuing idealism, expressed as a belief that young people can make a difference on global issues.
Four-fifths of young people rely on television as their main way of learning about the Third World, and a large majority believes the media generally give a fair picture of what is happening. Some 67 per cent of 12 to 17 year-olds, and 69 per cent of 1824 year-olds believe the Government is not spending enough to help Third World countries.
Up to 80 per cent feel they can help with the problems of the Third World. War, followed by poverty and hunger, are identified as the main problems facing the world.
On a local level, the survey shows that drugs are the main issue of concern to young people, even those in the 12-17 year-old category, and the issue is also seen as the main problem facing the Government, followed by corruption and the tribunals.
The lack of recreational and sporting facilities is ranked next in importance. The adult survey reveals a strong commitment to aid programmes, but a marked lack of awareness of the issues involved. Some 31 per cent of adults feel the Government should increase aid by "a lot", while a further 36 per cent support a "little" increase.
In spite of Ireland's increasing economic strength and wealth, aid increases have tapered off in recent years and the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat coalition now has no chance of reaching its own targets, set in the Programme for Government.
Last December, the Minister o State for Overseas Co-operation, Ms Liz O'Donnell, admitted that last year's aid target of 0.34 per cent of GNP would not be reached. She blamed a new method of calculating GNP for this, and conceded that the Government interim target of 0.45 per cent had been "severely thrown off course".
Trocaire, spontaneously recognised by up to 67 per cent of respondents, emerges as by far the best-known aid agency among children and young adults. Concern, GOAL and Gorta follow in order of familiarity.
Some 1,050 children (from 12 years of age), young adults and older adults were interviewed by Irish Marketing Surveys for the report.
