Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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1059. To ask the Minister for Health the amount of his Department’s budget for 2022 which is being considered as part of Official Development Assistance in the context of international aid; the measures this budget will be spent on; the section in his Department that will be overseeing this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53095/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs is the lead Department with responsibility for Ireland’s development assistance programme and it works closely with the relevant policy units in my Department.

In January 2021, €1,603,799.28 was paid by my Department in assessed contributions to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Assessed contributions are a key source of financing for the WHO as they provide predictable financing and allow resources to be aligned to the WHO's overall programme budget. Under the current criteria of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, 76% of WHO assessed contributions are classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA), which would amount to €1,218,887 in 2021.

Additionally in 2021, funding of €623,953 was provided to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) by my Department, of which 51% or €318,216 is considered ODA.

Contributions of a similar level are expected in 2022. It should be noted that the ODA percentage attributions outlined above are potentially subject to adjustment following review by the OECD.

Covid-related in-kind donations to a number of countries, as well as donations of vaccines, are also considered to be ODA; these contributions will also be factored into Ireland's overall ODA expenditure.