Founded in 1973 as the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church of Ireland.
Trócaire’s mandate is “to support long-term development projects overseas and to provide relief during emergencies” and “to inform the Irish public about the root causes of poverty and injustice and mobilise the public to bring about global change.”
Under a 5-year funding commitment from Irish Aid, Trócaire was pledged €116 million from 2007-11. Due to budget cuts, a shortfall of €30 million is expected.
In 2010, Trócaire reported an income of €5.5 million from Irish Aid, €2.7 million from the EU, and €1.3 million from the UK Department for International Development.
Trócaire spent €151,187 in “Palestine” in 2009-10, compared with €952,441 in 2008-09.
Acting against Irish government policy, Trócaire conducts a campaign to sanction Israel (and Europe) by suspending mutually beneficial trade agreements, and attempted to block Israel’s inclusion in the OECD. These actions are consistent with Trócaire’s history of political activity against Israel, including a campaign against the security barrier and sponsorship of events commemorating the “nakba.”
Trócaire’s educational material reflects a one-sided approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict and contains false information such as inflated casualty statistics. Joint reports with other political NGOs advance highly disputed legal claims; for instance, the blockade on Gaza is labeled “collective punishment,” and Israel is referred to as the “occupying power” in Gaza.
Updates during the 2008-09 Gaza war regularly condemned Israel’s actions as “illegal” and “massively disproportionate”, but made only a few, trivial mentions of Hamas’ rockets targeting Israeli civilians.
In 2007, Trócaire joined Badil in a “Call to Action,” which advocated anti-Israel boycotts and sanctions, and enlisted “journalists to organize a targeted campaign to expose the lies of AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League and to expose the Jewish and Zionist community's double standards regarding Nakba & Occupation.”
Director Justin Kilcullen traveled to Gaza in June 2010. His reports blame Israel exclusively for the conflict, reflecting a politicized and myopic narrative.
