Written answers

Thursday, 14 October 2021

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Overseas Development Aid

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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116. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which Ireland will meet its commitment to reach a spend of 0.7% of GNI by 2030 on overseas development aid; his plans to achieve this; if he will provide a breakdown of the spend in 2020 and to date in 2021, respectively; the amount of aid spent directly by Ireland; the amount committed through EU programmes; the breakdown of those commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50233/21]

Photo of Colm BrophyColm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Continued and steady increases in ODA allocations year-on-year will enable the 2030 target to be achieved. Budget 2022 allocated the highest ever amount to ODA, over €1 billion, an increase of €140 million on the 2021 figure.

However, in years of high GNI growth, large increases in cash allocations achieve only modest increases as a proportion of GNI. My Department is building systems that enable our development programme to grow further, including as a proportion of GNI, in a sustainable and responsible way.

In 2020, a total of €867 million was allocated to ODA. Of that, €545 million was managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs: this include €50 million through the European Development Fund and contributions to EU trust funds. An additional €178 million was channelled directly through the EU ODA-eligible budget as part of Ireland’s annual EU assessed contribution. The remainder is accounted for by other ODA-spending Departments, including Departments of Finance, Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Justice. The full breakdown of 2020’s ODA is currently being finalised and will be published next month in the Irish Aid Annual Report 2020.

The allocation to ODA in budget 2021 was €868 million, of which €571 million was to my Department. The budget day forecast for the EU ODA-eligible was €159 million, a significant portion of the €297 million in ODA managed outside of the Department of Foreign Affairs. This represented an increase, with 2021 the first year of the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework, which created a new single development instrument incorporating the European Development Fund.

It is likely when final figures are compiled that the 2021 out turn for ODA will be above €900 million, in part due to additional support to the global pandemic response. The full breakdown of the 2021 ODA spend will be published next year in the Irish Aid Annual Report 2021.

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