Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I fully agree with the Deputy. We have allocated about €7.7 million so far this year to Sudan. We are committing this morning to allocating at least €14 million during the total year, which would bring us in line with what we did last year, because the humanitarian situation there is horrific. The year 2025 will be the fifth consecutive year in which the Government allocation to the Irish Aid programme managed by my Department will have increased and we will publish in September the annual report on our official development assistance to provide a detailed breakdown of the distribution of that aid.

The Deputy is right the very large cuts from other donors are having a real impact. The OECD projects a fall of between 9% and 17% in global ODA in 2025 at a time when the world probably requires it more than ever. This comes on top of a 9% drop in 2024 which marked the first global decline in six years. This projected decline is driven by announced cuts by major providers. France, Germany, the UK and the US all cut their ODA last year for the first time in nearly 30 years.

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