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We are currently taking a scythe to the aid budget for the poorest counties – it has been cut by €255 million, or 22 per cent, in the last 10 months, writes FINTAN O'TOOLE

LAST FRIDAY, I spent a shocking morning listening to eight Irish politicians. They are candidates in the Dublin constituency in the European elections: Caroline Simons, Mary Lou McDonald, Patricia McKenna, Deirdre de Burca, Eoin Ryan, Gay Mitchell, Prionsias De Rossa and Joe Higgins. They were speaking on a subject that doesn’t come up on the doorsteps and has very little potential for gathering votes. All of them would probably have been better off canvassing in a shopping centre. Yet, and this is the shock, every one of them was articulate, engaged, knowledgeable and passionate. They knew what they were talking about and, more importantly, they seemed to care.