Ireland in the World
We want to ensure that Ireland is a constructive member of the international community, prioritising the active promotion of peace and development through the European Union, the United Nations, international agencies and direct action. We intend adopting an active foreign policy in the next five years, based on progressing initiatives in key areas.
Making Neutrality Count Neutrality is central to our vision of Ireland as the bridge between the developed and developing world, the intermediary and facilitator in peace processes, the first on the ground in a major humanitarian crisis – the model UN State for the 21st century. Our policy for the next five years is to Make Neutrality Count. We believe neutrality enhances our standing internationally. Our goal is to use that standing to build peace and deliver development.
United Nations – Ireland The Model UN Member State Our goal is to establish Ireland as the model UN State, a world leader in development assistance, humanitarian rapid response and conflict resolution. We will: • Continue Ireland’s strong support for the primacy of the UN in international affairs and of UN reform, and also the international commitment of greater resources to peacekeeping and tackling the root causes of terrorism, and the creation of rapidly deployable emergency response units for humanitarian disasters. • Inform the United Nations of Ireland’s desire to stay at the forefront of UN reform efforts, placing our full diplomatic resources at the use of the UN. • Place Ireland at the heart of UN efforts to respond rapidly to humanitarian and human right crises in the developing world. Ireland will become the template for other States through the expansion of the Rapid Response Initiative. • Increase the size and capacity of the Rapid Response Corps, the civilian corps of volunteers trained and equipped by the Irish Government to be on the ground in an area of humanitarian crisis within a short period. • Double the amount of emergency relief supplies held in, and distributed from, our new pre-positioned humanitarian relief centres at the Curragh, Kildare and Brindisi, Italy. • Increase funding to the regional supply depot for Africa, based in Accra, Ghana. • Increase funding by at least €40 million to the Irish Government Emergency Response Fund and increase funding to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. • Work to strengthen the capacity of Irish and international NGOs to respond more quickly to international emergencies.
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