Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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430. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total amount of overseas development aid offered to various bodies globally in each of the past five years to date; the extent to which such funds reach their desired destination; if there were any exceptions to such rules; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38704/20]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The total amount of Ireland’s overseas development aid increased from €647.51 million in 2015 to €869.87 million in 2019. Information on the recipients of this ODA, and the channels through which ODA is delivered, can be found in the annual reports from Irish Aid. A link to the report can be found at:

In 2018, 45% of Ireland’s funding to multilateral organisations went to European Union institutions, 39% went to UN Agencies, Funds or Commissions, 6% went to the World Bank Group, with other multilateral organisations such as regional development banks and the WTO comprising the remaining spend. Detailed annexes to the 2019 Annual Report will be published in the coming weeks containing the equivalent information for last year.

The allocation of Ireland’s ODA is guided by our international development policy, A Better World. This policy has as its overarching objective the commitment to reach the furthest behind first. Peer Reviews of Ireland’s development programme, undertaken through the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), have consistently found Ireland's development cooperation to be of the highest quality, commending our poverty focus and commitment to Least Developed Countries.

The DAC Peer Review conducted this year also noted Ireland’s strong focus on addressing fragility and reducing humanitarian need, and stated that Ireland’s “allocations follow intentions”.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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431. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he and his Department have monitored countries in Europe or otherwise currently offering aid for trade to African countries or other economically challenged locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38705/20]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s development co-operation programme recognises that international trade can play a major role in the promotion of economic development and the alleviation of poverty. The World Trade Organisation-led Aid for Trade initiative seeks to mobilise resources to address the trade-related constraints identified by developing and least developed countries.

Aid for Trade programmes are designed to help developing countries to improve their competitiveness, expand and diversify their trade, attract foreign direct investment, create employment, and ensure women, youth and small and medium-size enterprises have opportunities to engage in trade. There is evidence that every €1 invested in aid for trade creates €8 in extra trade for all developing countries, and €20 for least developed countries. This is particularly important in the current context, as developing countries struggle to cope with and recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

My Department continues to monitor the engagement by the EU and others on aid for trade. The biennial joint OECD-WTO ‘Aid for Trade at a Glance’ publication, last published in 2019, provides a comprehensive analysis of current trends and developments.

Ireland was represented at the 7th Global Review of Aid for Trade which was held in July 2019 in Geneva.This Review demonstrated a continued need for and commitment to the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative at a time of growing global trade tensions and uncertainty.The theme ‘Supporting Economic Diversification and Empowerment’ led to special consideration of the digital divide, sustainable approaches and women’s and youth economic empowerment.

The EU adopted an updated EU Aid for Trade Strategy, Achieving Prosperity through Trade and Investment, in December 2017 and Ireland participates in the ongoing implementation and monitoring of this. The third EU Aid for Trade Progress Report was published earlier this year.

I am pleased that since 2000, Ireland has provided support for a number of international organisations involved in Aid for Trade initiatives. These include technical assistance programmes of the WTO; the International Trade Centre (ITC); the Advisory Centre for WTO Law; and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Port Management Programme. Our funding to these organisations amounted to €1.8m in 2020. In addition, support is provided for a number of private sector initiatives across the countries that we engage in through our development cooperation programme, for example the African Agri-Food Development Programme.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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432. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which Irish aid is being distributed annually under the multilateral aid programme and separately under bilateral aid agreements; the degree to which continued support is offered to achieve value for money for such donations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38706/20]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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In 2019, Ireland provided a total of €869.87 million in official overseas development assistance. Of this, €512.44 million (or 58.9%) was bilateral aid, and €357.44 million (or 41.1%) was multilateral aid.

Both bilateral and multilateral channels play important and complementary roles in ensuring that Ireland’s ODA is directed to where it is needed most and in the most appropriate and effective way: this approached enabled a respected think tank, ODI, to find Ireland to be the most principled donor in its 2020 index, the second successive year in which Ireland scored highest.

The OECD DAC Peer Review of Ireland’s ODA programme, published this year, noted that “Ireland’s long-standing commitment to engaging in partnerships is the trademark of [Ireland’s] development programme”. These partnerships, with Governments, CSOs, UN agencies and others extend beyond funding. The continued support and engagement Ireland offers in these partnerships is central to ensuring that Ireland’s ODA is used effectively and achieves value for money, against the backdrop of risk management processes the OECD found to be 'clear' and controls to be 'effective'.