Written answers

Thursday, 30 September 2021

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Overseas Development Aid

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the present level of overseas development aid as a percentage of GNI; his plans to increase this to 0.7% of ONI by 2030 as committed to; the amount it will be increased by in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47437/21]

Photo of Colm BrophyColm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to achieving the UN Official Development Assistance target of 0.7% of GNI by 2030, as set out in A Better World, Ireland's International Development policy, and re-iterated in the Programme for Government. 

Ireland's ODA allocation has increased in real terms for the last seven consecutive years. The budgeted ODA allocation for 2021 was €868 million, estimated at 0.32% of GNI.  If current trends of strong economic growth continues, ODA will need to continue to increase in real terms in order to achieve modest increases as a proportion of GNI. My Department is currently reviewing and building systems that will enable our development programme to grow further, including as a proportion of GNI, in a sustainable way. 

This also includes working in coordination with other Government Departments and bodies spending Official Development Assistance, and with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on allocations to ODA. The allocation for ODA for 2022 will be determined through the ongoing budget process.

In growing the allocation to ODA, it is important that Ireland continues to provide a quality international development programme.  The strong global reputation of the Irish Aid programme was confirmed by the OECD in its periodic Peer Review of Ireland’s Development Assistance, published last year.

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