U2 singer Bono yesterday spoke of his pride at the work of the Government in tackling poverty in Africa, saying it was an intrinsic part of the Irish psyche arising out of our experience of the Famine.
Speaking at University College Cork (UCC) following a meeting of the Irish Hunger Task Force, he said Minister for Finance Brian Cowen and Progressive Democrats deputy leader Liz O'Donnell had made huge contributions to tackling poverty in Africa. "I am very proud actually of the Irish Government on this," he said. "It has made me very proud as an actor who goes out in to the international arena to try and raise funds."
He added: "There is also an incredible amount of Irish NGOs who are right stuck in on the ground in the developing world. I think we do a very good job. Everywhere you go in Africa there is Irish. Often it used to be priests and nuns jumping out from behind bushes, but [ now] it is NGOs, activists and so on."
Bono said he did not want to "milk" the famine issue but it was "strange" that figures like himself, Bob Geldof and Concern chief executive Tom Arnold were so involved in combating poverty in Africa.
The Hunger Task Force was established by the Government as part of Ireland's efforts to the achieve the first UN Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015.
The taskforce includes leading economists, aid experts and academics, and is chaired by former minister for agriculture Joe Walsh. In addition to Bono, the group also includes Mr Arnold; economist Jeffrey Sachs; Sheila Sisulu of the UN World Food Programme; and Trócaire director Justin Kilcullen.
The group will visit Malawi before it completes a report for the Government by next summer.
Bono said it was an "anachronism" of the 21st century that people were starving to death and dying of preventable illnesses. He said Ireland could lead the way in beating poverty but the onus was on society itself to decide that the issue was a priority.
He said Ireland had come from further behind than any other country in modern history to reach its present state of prosperity and this gave hope to African countries.
Hundreds of students lined the quad in UCC for a glimpse of the singer, but the U2 star joked that he was trying to keep a low profile as he was due in Dublin for rehearsals with his long-suffering band members.