Sinn Féin’s Aonghus Ó Snodaigh said on Friday that Generation YES were “naive” for believing that Lisbon was “crucial in the fight against poverty“. We think Aonghus Ó Snodaigh is arrogant for thinking he knows more about development policy than the Chief Executive of Concern and the Director of Trócaire. We know it’s crucial because that’s what the experts told us.

Tom Arnold from Concern said that Lisbon is important because “In a world where the combination of man-made and physical disasters is increasing and will probably continue to increase, it is important that Europe equips itself with the policy framework to respond to that”. Tom believes that the new vote “is of crucial importance”. Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trócaire and Chairperson of Concord, which represents 1,600 development NGOs, has noted that “the Lisbon Treaty makes poverty reduction the main objective of EU development policy. That means the €46 billion of aid money the EU gives annually cannot legally be used for purposes other than tackling poverty”.

We don’t think it’s naive to suggest that when the worlds’ biggest donor of overseas aid makes poverty the most crucial aim of its development policy and introduces new policies to ensure European countries work together to further these aims that it is a good thing.