Mr. Niall Burgess:

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the Irish Aid programme with the committee. I echo the Chairman's sentiments in referring to the death last night of Mr. Liam Cosgrave, who was Minister for External Affairs between 1954 and 1957. Though his tenure was short, his influence on foreign policy was enormous as he oversaw the process which resulted in Ireland becoming a full and active member of the United Nations, UN. I cannot do better than echo President Higgins when he quoted Mr. Cosgrave on our entry to the UN:

His words on that occasion that Ireland should work to 'take our place in the comity of nations and do our part to secure what small nations have always required, the maintenance of peace' remains to this day an important reminder of our nation's role and unique voice on global issues such as disarmament, peacekeeping, human rights and development.

This provides so much of the context of the work we will discuss at this meeting. I am joined by the director general of Irish Aid, Mr. Ruairí de Búrca, who was formerly our ambassador to Mozambique and who oversaw one of the largest bilateral country aid programmes; Ms Nicola Brennan, the head of our policy unit, her colleague, Ms Nicole McHugh; and the head of our humanitarian unit, Ms Emer O'Connell.

Our people are global, spread across the planet. Our trade is global and we invest abroad. Our values are universal, founded in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Ireland is rooted in Europe, particularly as a member state of the European Union, and much of our development is exercised through the Union. We have strong bonds in north America, Australia and New Zealand, and Argentina, and we have partnerships for our development activities through these bonds. We are helping to build relationships in Asia and we are engaged in development activities across south east Asia. Our place in the world helps create our prosperity but it is also founded on ensuring that others are secure and prosperous in their parts of the world, and playing our part as a global citizen to make that prosperity a reality.

We have particularly special relationships with Africa through our generations of missionary endeavour, migration, new African diasporas resident in Ireland and many years of development and humanitarian work undertaken by both Government through Irish Aid and by humanitarian and aid agencies. The work of many individuals and organisations, including many colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs, over many years has built on their legacy. Their stories, like so many others we grew up with, were a reminder that our peace, security and well-being are linked umbilically to the peace, security and well-being of others, and if that was true in our youth, it is even more so today. Ours is an interconnected world. Recent climate events such as the hurricanes in the Caribbean or drought in east Africa tell us that we need to act in common with others to address the challenges of our age. That sense of sharing the planet informed the negotiation of the sustainable development goals, SDGs, also known as Agenda 2030, which was led and co-facilitated by Ireland at the UN. The SDGs were adopted by the UN in 2015, following an extensive process. They set an ambitious set of targets and it is expected that all countries will respond to the challenge not just domestically, but also in foreign policy. They set a context for our work in the future of Irish Aid and our wider development assistance for the coming decade and beyond.

Before briefly touching on the role of Irish Aid, I would like to situate it within Ireland's broader development assistance work. Ireland makes its financial contributions to the UN and the EU like any member state in good standing. In addition, Ireland’s commitment to international development is a whole of government commitment. It does not rest solely within the remit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Many Departments contribute from their budgets to multilateral organisations, for example, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine’s support for the World Food Programme. Other Departments contribute in kind, for example, to the support the Health Service Executive provides to health system strengthening in the developing world. Between one quarter and one third of all Irish overseas development assistance – in 2016, just over €241 million – is accounted for by this whole of government contribution. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and particularly its development co-operation directorate, manages the remaining two thirds of Irish overseas development assistance. This amounted to €486 million in 2016. The portion managed by my Department is branded Irish Aid.

Irish Aid works across the world, but with a focus on Africa. Our policies are aligned with the SDGs, with our current focus interventions designed to reduce hunger and build resilience, create conditions for sustainable and inclusive economic growth, encourage better governance and accountability, and support human rights. We maintain long-term development programmes in a number of key partner countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, and outside Africa, in Vietnam. Ireland also works particularly closely with a number of other African countries. Our focus is always on the most vulnerable. In recent years, Ireland has looked to deepen its support to fragile states such as Somalia or South Sudan, building on the experience of our embassy in Sierra Leone. Ireland has also had to respond to emerging humanitarian crises such as Syria or what have been termed the "forgotten crises" of famine and conflict across the Sahel and into the Sahara, often accompanied by migration and refugee movements, north and south. In 2016, humanitarian assistance totalled €194 million, the highest it has ever been. Sadly, the pressures to respond to calamity and disaster, often man made, continue this year.

In Irish Aid’s efforts, we work with many partners. Some are well known to this committee, including fantastic NGOs such as Trócaire and Concern. Others might be less well known but, nonetheless, they do excellent work in niche areas. We work with local partners on the ground in many countries as well as with international and multinational partners. In working with partners, the watchwords are results, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. I believe we do good work, in which Irish people can take pride. The most recent assessment of Irish Aid by the OECD's development aid committee, DAC, was very positive, particularly the extent to which Irish assistance is targeted at the poorest countries and reaches those who are most vulnerable. It commended Ireland on grounding its policies in the needs and priorities of its partner countries, and having a clear overall vision for development co-operation. The review noted that Ireland plays a leadership role at global level on its priority issues, particularly hunger and nutrition. It also praises Ireland for responding rapidly and effectively to other natural disasters.

However, notwithstanding the good work done by Irish Aid, and by many others, it is clear that aid alone cannot solve the problems of poverty and hunger. Lasting solutions must be underpinned by developing countries own leadership, by their ability to harness their own human and other potential, and to address inequalities. Ireland plays its part by leveraging the voice and experience earned through our development programme to advocate to partners and internationally to bring about the positive changes needed if vulnerability is to be addressed. The SDGs give new impetus to that task.

It is clear that while One World, One Future, our policy platform, has stood the test of time, there are significant new drivers for change since it was completed. The committee's review is timely and welcome in that context.I will pass now to my colleague, Mr. de Búrca, who will go into more detail on the shape of the aid programme and some of the emerging challenges it faces.