Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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862. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the Government's commitment to the percentage of our national income towards overseas development aid; the projection for the percentage of national income to be allocated for this purpose in 2016 and for each of the subsequent years for which targets are in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37198/15]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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868. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the rationale behind increasing the Irish contribution to the European Union development co-operation budget by €18 million; and the way this budget is operated. [37337/15]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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874. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on increasing the overseas aid budget; if this will be raised to the 0.7% target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37433/15]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 862, 868 and 874 together.

The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme, which is 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 Gross National Product (GNP) for Official Development Assistance (ODA). We have consistently stated we would make progress towards the 0.7% target once economic conditions allow. As our economic recovery now gains momentum and becomes more widely established, we can begin to deliver on that commitment.

Last month 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 Official Development Assistance, an increase of €40 million, or almost 7% on the 2015 level. €486 million will be managed by Irish Aid in my Department through Vote 27 International Cooperation. A further estimated €155 million will be accounted for by allocations to other Government Departments and Ireland’s share of the EU Development Cooperation budget. We estimate this level of allocation will result in a projected ODA/GNP percentage of 0.36 % in 2016, a small increase on the 0.35% projected for 2015.

The EU’s international cooperation and development policy is managed and implemented by the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development. In any given year, Ireland’s share of the EU Development Cooperating budget is calculated by attributing our percentage share as a Member State to the total EU expenditure on ODA. Based on the increase in the EU Development Cooperation budget which the Commission is forecasting for 2016, and an expected increase in Ireland's percentage share, we project our share for 2016 will be just over €100 million, an increase of €18 million on the 2015 projection.