A group of 30 TDs and Senators has called on the Government not to cut overseas aid in the Budget on 9 December.
In a letter published in today's Irish Times, the elected representatives said that any further cuts to overseas aid would have 'very little impact' on our financial stability.
The letter read: 'Withdrawing funding to well-established partners, programmes and beneficiaries is a short-sighted and inefficient means of protecting a substantial investment over the course of Irish aid's existence.'
The group includes former Fianna Fáil ministers Rory O'Hanlon and Michael Woods, who is currently Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The letter is signed by a total of six Fianna Fáil TDs and by Ciarán Cuffe and Dan Boyle of the Green Party.
Members of Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and some Independents also put their name to the letter.
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs Peter Power told the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs on Thursday that Ireland's total development aid spend for 2009 would be €696m.
