Plan, a global charity that works with children in developing countries, launched its Irish operation in Dublin last night.
Ireland joins 15 other countries in the humanitarian organisation which was originally set up to help children orphaned in the Spanish Civil War in 1937.
A British war-correspondent, John Langdon Davies, started the organisation as the Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain, but it quickly grew and now works with 45 developing countries around the world.
The Sponsor a Child programme accounts for about 80 per cent of the charity's income, with government grants making up the rest. Plan's global income was $308 million in 2002.
One million children are now sponsored by more than 900,000 supporters worldwide. The €22 monthly payment goes to Plan headquarters where it is redistributed to community projects.
Ms Jane Clare, chairwoman of the new group, saw the need for an Irish wing of the charity after she was invited onto the board of Plan UK four years ago. She discovered that over 400 Irish people were already involved in the "Sponsor a Child" programme - even though it had no presence here.
As a mother of seven, she said she was won over by the central role of children in the organisation. Participatory groups of children are consulted when plan begins working with a community.
Her husband, the psychiatrist Prof Anthony Clare, is on the board, and the couple sponsors two children in Kenya and Malawi.
Ms Clare said children's charities were competing for funding but Plan was unique because it focused on the rights and needs of children.
"Children are at the heart of it. We are a long-term development organisation, not an emergency organisation - although when emergencies happen, we are there. We stay for 12-15 years in an area. We are also a grassroots organisation," she said.
Local people work on plan projects providing clean water, sanitation, housing, healthcare and schooling.
Prof Clare said Irish people had a greater empathy with developing countries than others, as we faced similar problems not that long ago.
Plan aims to have 5,000 people involved in the Sponsor a Child programme, within three years. The charity can be contacted at 125 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01 639 2968. The website is www.plan-ireland.org
