Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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17. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the funding provided by his Department in 2021 to civil society organisations working in the area of overseas development aid. [3637/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Both Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World, Global Island, and ' Ireland's Strategy for Africa to 2022 acknowledge the importance of sustaining the work of civil society organisations and the vital role they play in building peaceful, inclusive and prosperous societies.

In addition, A Better World, Ireland's policy for international development published in 2019, recognises the importance of civil society in supporting development, human rights and in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection. It reiterates Ireland’s strong commitment to supporting and protecting civil society space. It also commits to strengthening collaboration with Irish civil society partners on public engagement and outreach.

My Department publishes a report annually on Ireland's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, known as Irish Aid, and these are available on the website. The reports include statistical information on programme expenditure showing the distribution of aid, including the total amounts given to civil society organisations.

With regard to figures for 2021, validation of data on Ireland’s ODA programme is done in arrears. Prior to publication, draft statistical returns are shared with the relevant OECD Development Assistance Committee experts for assurance that Ireland's reported spending meets the internationally accepted criteria of what can be counted as ODA. This assurance is important to maintaining Ireland's reputation as a quality donor. The 2021 Report will be published later this year.

Ireland is amongst the OECD donors which provide the greatest percentage of bilateral assistance to civil society organisations, typically around double the OECD average. The 2020 OECD DAC Peer Review of Ireland found that “Ireland’s partnerships with civil society are particularly strong and are characterised by mutual trust, quality funding based on clear criteria and an open culture for substantive, regular dialogue”. It also found that Ireland is a global leader in promoting civil society space and that our partnerships with civil society are a hallmark of our development co-operation.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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18. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the work his Department is undertaking to combat gender-based violence overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3643/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A Better World, the Government's policy for international development, establishes gender equality as a policy priority. Globally, gender-based violence has increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions.

Ireland is among OECD countries with the highest annual proportion of official development assistance (ODA) invested in gender equality measures, including the reduction of gender-based violence.

Ireland funds initiatives to this end through Irish and international NGOs, the UN and through our country programmes, mostly in Africa. In 2021, my Department, through the Irish Aid programme, committed approximately €15 million annually to address gender based violence. This includes partnerships with the International Rescue Committee, and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, which supports grassroots efforts in over 80 countries. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is a longstanding partner of Ireland’s. They address gender based violence by providing sexual and reproductive health services, explicitly combating harmful practices such as genital mutilation and child marriage. Irish Aid's support for education for girls also helps keeps girls safe.

My Department is also a member of the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence. The Consortium facilitates advocacy, learning and capacity building of Irish NGOs to respond to GBV.

In recent years, my Department has supported work to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in a large number of countries, including Palestine, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Liberia, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Zambia. For example, in Zimbabwe, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown contributed to a 75% increase in demand for services for women suffering from gender based violence. In response, Ireland supported Oxfam to scale up services to respond to domestic violence and advocate for women’s rights. This provided support for 1,500 individuals per month, and doubled the capacity of shelters.

Gender features as a theme of the 2020 Irish Aid Annual report, which contains more information on this issue.