Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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880. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the annual budget of Irish Aid since its inception. [41400/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department publishes a report on Ireland's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, known as Irish Aid, each year on its website. The report includes statistical information on programme expenditure in a series of annexes which clearly show the distribution of aid, including the amounts given to developing countries, and the amounts allocated to our priority focus areas as set out in A Better World, Ireland’s international development policy. The Annual Report serves as a core accountability and transparency tool, providing a comprehensive overview of expenditure under the aid programme, and demonstrating the results that have been achieved. A historical breakdown of the State’s ODA is shown Annex three at this link:

www.irishaid.ie/news-publications/news/newsarchive/2020/november/irelands-official-development-assistance-annual-report-2019.html.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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881. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the annual budget of the Irish Aid training centre. [41401/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Aid Centre in Clonmel Street, Dublin provides workshops for Junior Cycle, Transition Year and Senior Cycle pupils on global issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals, food and hunger, and the role of international development.

While the premises are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre’s facilitators have been providing on-line, virtual workshops and have pre-recorded material for use in the classroom.

The 2021 budget for the Irish Aid Centre is €267,594. This covers running costs, materials, advertising and IT. The Centre is run on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs by SUAS Educational Development, an NGO focused on educational disadvantage.