In addition to, and after the section 2 (j) which outlines the objects of the Coalition:

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1 Special Resolution: Proposed Amendment to the Memorandum and Articles of Association of DDCI DDCI 18 th Annual General Meeting, Monday 24 th October 2011, 2pm 5pm Proposal Ireland s new status as a highly indebted nation to international lenders has fundamentally changed the context of DDCI s work. The DDCI board believes that DDCI s legitimacy will be under threat if it fails to adjust to this new environment in an appropriate manner, and in accordance with its organisational values. The context for amending the Memorandum and Articles of Association of DDCI is presented below. Based on this new context, the DDCI board proposes to the members that an adjustment be made to the Articles of Association as follows: In addition to, and after the section 2 (j) which outlines the objects of the Coalition: To undertake any other form of activity which is in the opinion of the Coalition necessary or desirable to achieve the objects of the Coalition The clause will be added: 2. j (1) In the context of DDCI's primary objects, and the changing global balance of nations indebtedness, DDCI will engage in education, policy and campaigning work relating to Ireland's debt where it is deemed appropriate by DDCI and where it is consistent with, and complementary to, its work on debt in the Global South. Background A Changed World For 18 years, DDCI has operated within a national context where Ireland was a lender to Southern countries largely through its membership of the World Bank, IMF and later, the Asian Development Bank. In December 2010, this situation changed, when Ireland became a borrower from international lenders, the IMF and EU. The nature of Ireland's current economic crisis has caused a significant shift in the operational context of DDCI s education, policy and campaigning work, which presents both opportunities and challenges to DDCI organisationally. Debt Injustice North and South 4 policy concerns that are central to the Southern focused debt justice movement are also central to the Irish and wider Eurozone debt policy debate the scale of debt, the legitimacy of debt, loan policy conditions and debt structuring and cancellation needs. 1. The scale of Ireland s Debt. A recent audit of Ireland s debt for the first quarter of 2011, carried out by a team of University of Limerick researchers, found that Ireland s debt, including contingent liabilities, has reached a staggering

2 billion. 1 This represents almost 300% of national income 2, far surpassing the debt levels of many Southern countries. Even the IMF, using narrower measures, estimates that Ireland s debt will reach 115% of GDP by Ireland s debt is thus far higher than the average debts of the most highly indebted Southern states. For example, the average public debt of Caribbean states is estimated at 108% of GDP. 4 This comparison is particularly striking, as these Southern nations are currently of most concern to the IMF and UN in terms of their public debt distress levels The legitimacy of Ireland s Debt. The debt audit found that Ireland s debt crisis is largely as a result of the Irish banking crisis, which resulted in passing the burden of paying private bank debt onto the Irish people. The origin of the debt is thus clearly based on irresponsibly accumulated private loans. The decision of the previous Irish government of saving many inactive banks over protecting people in Ireland against the damaging social impacts of huge debt repayments has raised serious questions regarding the justice or legitimacy of Ireland s debts. 3. Loan policy conditions accompanying Ireland s debts: Ireland has signed a Programme of Agreement with the EU IMF lenders based on a wide set of loan policy conditions. Like, Southern governments and Southern peoples, the Irish government and people are now facing the challenge of how they wish to respond to the role of lenders in Ireland s national economic decision making. 4. The likely inability of Ireland to repay its debts in the future, coupled with a growing recognition that Ireland s economy will be ruined if it attempts to, and the probability of Greek debt default, has kick started much analysis among governments, lenders and civil society groups on how debt re structuring and debt cancellation could be carried out for Eurozone indebted countries. These four issues that are central to Ireland s current economic context also represent the ongoing policy battles which Southern nations have been engaged with since the height of the international debt crisis in the 1980s. Given these major policy linkages, it has become operationally very difficult, and questionable within the context of our values as an organisation, to separate DDCI s analysis of Southern countries policy responses on debt from the potential policy responses of Eurozone countries. 1 Killian, Garvey and Shaw, University of limerick, An Audit of Irish Debt, Sept 2011, Pub by Afri, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland and Unite 2 Storey, Andy, Ireland s Debt Crisis: Roots and Reactions, September Unite trade union presents a more inclusive measure of debt as a percentage of domestic economy which comes in at a much higher figure debt as 144% of Irish domestic economy by 2012 see Taft, Michael, Government Debt and Domestic Economy, Sept Hurley, Gail, Achieving Debt Sustainability and the MDGs in Small Island Developing States, UNDP, Oct ibid 2

3 Changing Engagement Since Ireland became a recipient of EU IMF loans in December 2010, key groups among DDCI s stakeholders and organisational structures have been active in directly comparing the debt policies applied by lenders in the Eurozone to those being applied in Southern countries either from education, advocacy or campaigning perspectives. Examples of such engagement includes: Members of the public: Participants in DDCI development education have significantly increased literacy levels on international lending processes and now request that DDCI focus our education approach on comparing Ireland s debt levels and loan policy conditions with that of Southern countries in order to understand the global debt problem in relation to their current lived experience in Ireland. DDCI members: DDCI has found that its work on producing a lessons from the Global South document 6 and its support toward the production of an independent audit of Ireland s debt has been highly appreciated by members and the wider economic justice sector in Ireland. DDCI members have also become more engaged on debt and IMF issues, including Afri, Comhlámh, Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) and the Galway One World Centre who have engaged from an education and (in one case) a campaigning perspective on analysing the links between Ireland s experience of debt and the ongoing Southern debt crisis. Southern and European debt justice partners: DDCI has worked closely with Southern partners, with Eurodad and debt justice activists in Greece throughout 2011 by sharing knowledge and policy advice, in particular drawn from partners in the South, on how European justice organisations should respond to the Eurozone debt crisis. Southern partners responses have focused particularly on the need to de bunk public scaremongering around the policy option of non repayments of debts. The DDCI Afri Unite commissioned initiative of an Irish debt audit was modeled on the experience of DDCI s Southern partners, and aimed to make Irish debt information more transparent. The organising groups are currently sharing the findings with the debt audit initiative in Greece and with other partners in the South working on debt audits. Irish and European Media: Irish and European media have been contacting DDCI over the past 10 months seeking views from DDCI on Ireland s debt and the connections with the Southern debt experience. 6 Ní Chasaide, Nessa, A Global Justice Perspective on the Irish EU IMF Loans: Lessons from the Wider World, Nov 2010, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland 3

4 The IMF: At the IMF Annual meetings in September 2011, the IMF executive directors referenced their policies in Greece and Ireland when engaging with DDCI and others in lobbying meetings on the matter of Southern countries debts. Opportunities and Challenges for DDCI These varied types of engagement present significant opportunities and challenges for DDCI s future work: Opportunities Increased public interest: DDCI s education work has been in higher demand since Ireland became a borrower from the EU IMF. Participants in our development education work have indicated high interest in learning about Southern debt issues by comparing Ireland s debt crisis with the debt crisis in the Global South. There is strong recognition that the power relations with lenders being experienced by people in Ireland are common with experiences of people in the global South. Development education work that applies learning approaches through linking the lessons from peoples lived experience with that of others is a powerful approach to building global solidarity, learning and action for global justice. Increased solidarity with Southern partners: Southern debt partners have indicated strong support for European debt groups to work on the European debt crisis; have sought to share analysis both internally and through the media on lessons from the South to support debt justice for European countries; and have expressed interest in exploring policy proposals regarding European debt (such as stronger debt ceilings for EU countries and debt cancellation campaigns) that would directly support work for greater debt justice in Southern countries. Engaging with proposals for dealing with Irish debt that are 'borrowed' from the Global South also supports Irish people to recognise the agency of people in the Global South as initiators and exemplary models of people struggling against unjust power relationships. Linkages with local justice groups: DDCI and Afri have worked with Unite trade union and linked with other local groups such as the Community Platform and TASC in exploring responses to the Irish debt crisis. This is because a strong Irish civil society response against debt injustice and unfair policy conditions will strengthen economic justice work in Ireland and support DDCI s calls for greater economic justice and sovereignty for the global South. A joint localglobal approach could build momentum for action globally on the need for greater accountability from lenders and borrowers in the North and South. Lobbying Work In July 2011, the IMF indicated significant support for debt re structuring in Greece 4

5 which is a useful indication of openness to cancellation of unpayable European debts by a lender of last resort. It is crucial that DDCI challenges any double standards by lenders in tackling the global debt problem and that any concessions given to Northern indebted countries are applied to Southern indebted countries too. Achieving concessions for European indebted countries could also arguably lead to stronger moral arguments for increased debt cancellation for Southern countries and greater awareness of the need for more just lending and borrowing standards globally in future. Challenges and Risks Diverting DDCI s focus away from the Global South: DDCI s primary mandate is focusing on the concern surrounding Southern countries debts. It s role is very important as the only membership based organisation working continuously on Southern debt issues. This has given DDCI a specific and effective niche position within the global justice sector, that appeals to the work of many global justice organisations in Ireland. Widening the mandate of DDCI, albeit regarding a highly linked debt issue, may diminish DDCI s niche appeal. Political and funding implications: DDCI s recent work on tax justice issues has demonstrated that linking global justice work directly to Irish economic concerns increases the level of sensitivity of government in its responses to DDCI policy proposals. Part of the challenge of taking a public position on Ireland s debt is the danger of less access to government on Southern debt issues and potentially unfair threats to DDCI s government funding. DDCI s Capacity: Since November 2010, DDCI has functioned as an effective facilitator of dialogue in Ireland on this issue by ensuring a range of strategic actions take place including: public discussion (through public meetings), detailed education (through our development education workshops) and an audit of Ireland s debts (supported jointly with Afri and Unite trade union). Through this process, DDCI has observed that the Irish economic justice sector is not collectively organised on this issue, not least because it has a larger number of groups and because there is low historical experience of working on debt issues within the independent community and trade union sectors. Responding to the risks: The risks outlined above are challenging and the DDCI board proposes the following actions to overcome them: DDCI Southern Focus In a recent organisational evaluation, DDCI members expressed high desire to protect and sustain DDCI s work on southern debt. However, a strong recognition was also voiced among the high majority of members that DDCI is facing a unique challenge 5

6 requiring a clear organisational response. Proposed risk mitigation: The DDCI board proposes that any policy position on Irish debt is rooted in and integrated, as appropriate, within DDCI s ongoing debt work and that any policy position is consistent and complementary with DDCI Southern debt work. Political and Funding Implications: Political: This risk may be somewhat reduced due to the following factor. Debt justice work generally focuses on working to increase resources and the policy freedom of governments (in this case of the Irish government) which may find some support among elements of government and certainly strong support in the parliamentary opposition. Thus, working on local debt issues may not be as controversial as working on taxation issues in Ireland for example. In addition, it is highly likely that debt re structuring is privately being discussed at the European level given the massive scale of the Eurozone debt crisis, hence any call for debt cancellations is not that out of step with many official, if currently off the record, views. DDCI constantly weighs up the political risks of various policy engagements against their ethical importance in addition to their practical organisational implications. In this case, the DDCI board believes that the moral imperative and the organisational opportunities outweigh this risk, albeit a very sensitive one, and that protecting the legitimacy of the organsiation with members, the Irish public and our Southern partners should be paramount. Proposed Risk mitigation: The DDCI board proposes that any political position in relation to Irish debt will be presented to the DDCI members for comment, and then approved by the board before finalisation. Funding: DDCI always separates its policy and campaigning work out from its Irish Aid funded work. Proposed risk mitigation: The DDCI board proposes that the separation of our education work from campaigning work will be continued. DDCI will also present a strong analysis to Irish Aid on the value of linking local and global analysis as a widely accepted and promoted approach to development education work. Capacity: DDCI has a strong organisational understanding of debt issues including the politics of lending standards, loan policy conditions and debt cancellation processes. Through supporting an audit of Ireland s debt, DDCI s understanding of Ireland s debt has been greatly enhanced. This was a necessary exercise for DDCI s ongoing policy work as discussions on Southern debt among the international debt movement and with lending officials has become highly intertwined with policy responses to the Eurozone debt crisis. Nevertheless, any new policy issue demands more time of an already busy organization with limited capacity. Proposed risk mitigation: The DDCI board proposes that any proactive work on Ireland s 6

7 debt is undertaken as part of a wider coalition of groups and within which DDCI is not the leading organisation carrying the workload. DDCI s added value to such work will be to bring a global justice analysis to bear on our proposed solutions to the problem of Ireland s debt. 7