Rallies were recently held across the world to mark the third anniversary of the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Global Goals, as they are also called, comprise a set of 17 objectives aimed at “transforming our world” into a better place by 2030. Specifically, the goals are a call to the people of the world to work together to end poverty, protect the environment and ensure that everyone enjoys peace and prosperity.

The 2030 agenda was necessitated by the failure of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to do the very same thing, despite the enormous efforts and resources pumped to that initiative.

While the SDGs are very important and efforts towards them are laudable, we do not believe that the goals are achievable in the less than 12 years remaining.

Interestingly, this year’s anniversary coincides with the public consultation for Ireland’s new international development policy, which aims to “continue to lead and participate in collective global aspirations for a better world” that are “anchored in our foreign policy values, working towards a world that is more equal, peaceful and sustainable”, in the words of Irish Aid.

Metro Éireann acknowledges the efforts of Irish people in contributing towards the reduction of poverty, inequality and all forms of abuse.

But we strongly believe that much more would be achieved if just one per cent of the hundreds of millions of aid money would be dedicated to direct investment in projects, especially targeting members of the diaspora in Ireland for investment in their home countries.

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