Questions for your Election Candidates

Speak out on Trade Justice – General Election 2011

Some Questions for your Election Candidates 

Many prospective TDs could be turning up at your door, hanging out at your local shop or train station looking for your vote in the coming days. This is a great chance to raise development and trade justice with them as an issue you care about. You can raise their awareness of global justice issues, and send a message back to party HQ that they should take a stand on development and trade justice issues. We’ve prepared some short notes and questions to help you with this, but you may obviously have your own too.

Some Questions for Candidates:

1. What is your party’s position on Ireland’s support to developing countries, through its overseas aid programme, and politically as a member of the EU and the global community?

Ireland has made international commitments to reach 0.7% of our national income on overseas development aid by 2015. Our ODA has decreased in the last 2 years due to budget cuts. For more information on this see www.actnow2015.ie  

Ireland has also been vocal at a global and European level, raising the importance of international development. Our country has stressed that EU and international policies must respond to developing countries needs and perspectives, especially where issues like trade are concerned. We hope Ireland will maintain and strengthen this position.

2. How will you ensure that Ireland and Europe’s trade policy does not damage developing countries’ economies, or their environmental or labour standards?

Trade justice activists around the world have for many years been expressing concern about the negative impact of Europe’s trade policy on developing countries. For example, the EU is trying to secure access to raw materials, such as metals and wood, from developing countries without paying any tax. This denies developing countries both the ability to manage their own resources and to raise vital revenue from them.

3. How will your party work to ensure that developing countries are not forced to sign up to trade deals that would negatively affect their economies?

Ireland and the EU have been negotiating free trade agreements called EPAs (Economic Partnership Agreements) since 2002 with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.  These include some of the poorest countries in the world. A number of countries have signed these deals due to pressure from the EU, even though they fear the deals will have a devastating impact on their eoconomies.  Other countries are refusing to sign. Ireland has taken a position in support of these countries concerns at EU level, which it should maintain and strengthen.

Trade Justice Activists in Ireland and Globally are calling for: 

Support for developing countries’ right to chose their own economic policies·        

A review of EU policies on trade and investment to ensure they prioritise sustainable development, poverty eradication and human rights objectives·        

Alternatives to unfair Free Trade Agreements between EU and developing countries·        

A positive outcome for developing countries at the World Trade Organisation

For more information on these issues, see here and here

What your candidate can do on these issues:        

Raise these issues and questions with the person or team working on policy for their party, and the Foreign Affairs and Trade spokespeople·        

Ask questions about this topic in the Dáil      

Join relevant committees (Foreign Affairs, EU Affairs, Development, Trade)  when the new Dáil is formed        

Raise these issues with MEPs from their party        

Stay in touch with you on this issue 

For more information on other related organisations’ election demands click here