Written answers

Thursday, 17 December 2015

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Overseas Development Aid Expenditure

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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526. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the funding he has made available under the different programmes for official development assistance and the percentage this is of gross national product, in 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46178/15]

Photo of Seán SherlockSeán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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In Budget 2016, the Government provided €640 million for Official Development Assistance (ODA) - an increase of some €40 million on 2015.€486 million is allocated to Vote 27 International Co-operation, which is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and known to the public as Irish Aid. An estimated €155 million will come from other Government Departments and Ireland’s share of the EU development Co-operation budget.The total allocation is likely to result in a slight increase in our ODA/GNP percentage from a projected 0.35% in 2015 to approximately 0.36% in 2016.

Immediately following the Budget Day announcement, my Department undertook a detailed planning exercise for the Vote 27 allocation, reviewed existing plans and programmes in light of current and emerging needs and made detailed financial allocations for 2016 against clear and objective allocation criteria.

For 2016 Ireland will continue to play a leading role in the comprehensive response to the unprecedented humanitarian crises facing the international community. We will use our humanitarian and development assistance in a more coordinated way, responding to the immediate humanitarian crisis and building resilience in communities for the future. We have increased our direct funding for emergency humanitarian assistance to €92 million – an increase of 21% on the 2015 level. This funding will be delivered through the UN system and trusted Irish and International NGOs to meet the acute needs of people caught up in those crisis.

We are determined our aid programme will continue its rigorous focus in addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality and hunger in particular in our key partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa.For 2016 we have allocated almost €160 million directly to bilateral country programmes, supporting programmes that build resilience, address emerging humanitarian needs, and meet the basic needs of poor and marginalised communities in our key partner countries.

€86 million is allocated directly to our main NGO partners and Missionary Organisations, supporting their development programmes to provide essential services and build the capacity and resilience of vulnerable communities to participate in the development process as equal citizens and hold their Governments to account.

We will continue to provide core financial support to a number of key UN partners and other International Organisations, whose priorities and policies fit well with ours and who have a proven track record of delivery. Those voluntary contribution allows Ireland to participate in development co-operation at a global level in key areas of need and in countries outside our bilateral programme. For 2016, we plan to provide €77 million to UN and other International Organisations to support their development programmes, and a further €41 million will be made available to key international partners delivering global programmes in the priority sectors of Essential Services, Health and HIV/AIDS, Education and Inclusive Economic Growth.

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