John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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111. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the breakdown of the funding allocation for his Department for 2021, by project. [35508/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The breakdown of the funding allocation for the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2021 is as detailed in the Estimates for Public Services 2021, published on Budget Day.

The Department has secured a €30 million increase on its 2020 allocation.

€10 million of that increase will be allocated to programmes to assist the Department in meeting the many challenges and opportunities we face in the coming year. The first of January will be the end of the UK’s transition period following its departure from the EU. We will need to continue our extensive Brexit engagement at this critical time.

2021 will also see Ireland taking our seat on the UN Security Council where we will act under three broad principles: Building Peace, Strengthening Prevention and Ensuring Accountability. Ireland will be at the heart of UN decision-making on matters of vital importance, including international peace, security and development.

The Department must also plan for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The role that our network played in assisting Irish citizens across the globe underlines the importance of our international footprint and we will continue to strengthen our global presence to ensure Ireland is ready to take advantage of new markets and opportunities and to continue to support our citizens and communities abroad. In addition, this will help to position Ireland for economic recovery through maximising the use of our global footprint.

Funding for the Peace and Reconciliation Fund has been increased by one third to €5 million to allow additional grants in 2021 focusing on cross community and cross boarder engagement and community support and development reflecting the Government’s ongoing commitment to building cross community reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

The remaining €20 million of that increase has been allocated to Irish Aid, our world class international development programme. This enables us to continue to respond to the global impacts of the pandemic, focusing on those most in need. The Department will increase Irish Aid’s engagement on climate action, with the establishment of a dedicated Climate Unit, and through deepening our support for climate adaption and mitigation across the Irish Aid programme.