Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme and to its place at the heart of our foreign policy. “One World, One Future”, our policy for international development, clearly articulates the Government’s commitment to the UN target of providing 0.7% of GNP for official development assistance, ODA. This commitment was reiterated by the Taoiseach at the UN Summit in New York in September which adopted a new set of sustainable development goals to guide international development policy and action for the next 15 years.

Our track record in support of Ireland’s aid programme is clear. Over the past four years, we have protected and stabilised budget allocations at a time of extraordinary economic difficulty. In that time, we have provided over €3 billion for ODA. We have stated that we would make progress towards the 0.7% target, once economic conditions allow. Now, as our economic recovery gains momentum and becomes more widely established, we can begin to make good on that commitment. On budget day, the Government announced the first substantial increase in the aid budget in over seven years. For 2016, we have provided a total of over €640 million in ODA, an increase of €40 million or almost 7% on the 2015 level. We estimate this will entail a small increase in our ODA-GNP percentage from a projected 0.35% in 2015 to a projected 0.36% in 2016, so we still have a long way to go. The challenge now is to ensure Ireland continues to play a leading role in the comprehensive response to the unprecedented humanitarian crises throughout the globe, especially in Europe’s broader neighbourhood, while ensuring our aid programme remains effective in addressing the root causes of poverty and hunger.

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