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THE LAST year has been a terrible one, both for Ireland’s image in the wider world and for our own sense of national pride. These are not merely abstract considerations. The damage to Ireland’s reputation has a real cost in terms of higher interest rates on borrowing and doubts about inward investment. The loss of self-confidence makes it harder to summon the collective belief that we can tackle the current crisis.

One of the few areas in which national pride has not been a matter of sentimental rhetoric or inflated self-importance has been Ireland’s relationship with the developing world. We have had three things to be proud of. The Government has made significant progress towards reaching the UN target of devoting 0.7 per cent of GNP to overseas development aid (ODA). The public has been extremely generous in adding its voluntary contributions to Irish aid agencies. And those agencies have been, on the whole, world-class organisations, extremely effective and innovative in delivering real benefits to the poorest of the poor. There has never been a time when these achievements were more necessary.