Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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649. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the overseas development aid expenditure in 2015; the provision he has made for 2016; the programmes he will fund in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7093/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Earlier this week the OECD Development Assistance Committee published the 2015 Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure levels for all OECD Donors, confirming that the outturn for Ireland’s total ODA expenditure for last year was €647 million. This represents an increase of some €32 million or 5% on the 2014 levels.

For 2016, the Government has allocated €641 million, an increase of 7% on the allocation for 2015. Of this amount, €486 million is allocated to Vote 27 of my Department, while a further estimated €155 million will come from other Government Departments and Ireland’s share of the EU development Co-operation budget. Based on past experience I am confident the final 2016 outturn will exceed the budget allocation.

Following the Budget announcement, my Department carried out a detailed planning exercise for the allocation under the Irish Aid programme, reviewed existing programme and plans against current and emerging needs. We made detailed financial allocations for the current year against clear and objective allocation criteria.

One of our key priorities for 2016 is to ensure Ireland continues to play a leading role in responding to the unprecedented humanitarian crises facing the international community, by using our humanitarian and development assistance in a more coordinated way and building resilience within communities for the future. In 2016 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 year we have allocated almost €160 million directly to bilateral country programmes, supporting programmes which 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. These voluntary contributions allow 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 is planned for key international partners delivering global programmes in the priority sectors of Essential Services, Health and HIV/AIDS, Education and Inclusive Economic Growth.