Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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89. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the estimated cost of reaching the 0.7% ODA/GNP target from its current base of approximately 0.3%, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14714/18]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas development cooperation programme and to its place at the heart of our foreign policy. For 2018, the Government has allocated just over €707 million for ODA, the third consecutive year ODA has increased. Based on current estimates, it is anticipated this level of allocation will see ODA amount to approximately 0.3% of GNI in 2018.

The current Programme for Government sets out our ambition to meet the UN target of providing 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) in Official Development Assistance (ODA), as resources permit. The intention is to reach the target by 2030, the timeframe for UN Sustainable Development Goals. Progress towards the 0.7% target will need to be made in a sustainable and manageable way, building on Ireland's recognised role as a reliable and effective partner in combatting global poverty and hunger, and in providing humanitarian assistance. In order to prepare that managed progression towards the UN target, a new White Paper on Irish overseas development assistance will be produced this year. Reaching the 0.7% target will involve significant increases to the ODA budget. Where these increases might be best focused and how they can be managed prudentially and effectively will require careful planning and consultation, including with other Government Departments and stakeholders more generally. The White Paper process will give direction in this regard, as will the recent report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence on Irish Aid.

The following table sets out a sample stepped scenario for meeting the UN target of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA by 2030, with interim targets of 0.4% in 2022, 0.5% in 2026 and 0.6% in 2028.

As GNI is calculated in arrears, forecasts for Gross National Product (GNP) are used as a proxy for GNI in the above calculations.