Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to the target agreed at the UN to provide 0.7% of Gross National Income in Official Development Assistance (ODA), as set out in A Better World, Ireland's International Development Policy, and in the Programme for Government.

For 2023, the Government has provided a gross allocation to ODA of over €1.233 billion. This is the ninth consecutive year in which the allocation for ODA has increased, and the second in which the allocation has exceeded €1 billion. It includes €716 million for the Irish Aid programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as ODA contributions from other Government Departments and Ireland's share of the EU Development cooperation budget.

Ireland's overall ODA figures for 2022 show the exceptional impact of eligible costs for the provision of services for Ukrainian refugees. Preliminary calculations, including eligible first-year refugee costs, show ODA at €2.33 billion, or 0.64% of GNP. None of the costs associated with the reception of Ukrainian refugees were sourced from the Government's original ODA allocation for 2022, and this will also be the situation in 2023.

Ireland's international development programme has a strong global reputation, which was confirmed in the most recent Peer Review of Ireland’s Development Assistance, conducted by the OECD in 2020.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has a strong history of providing humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable communities across the globe. According to global rankings, Ireland is a top twenty humanitarian donor. We respond to large scale humanitarian crises and emergencies, such as the devastating earthquakes which struck Turkiye and Syria in February, and we seek to maintain attention on less prominent and often protracted crises in places like Yemen, Somalia and Myanmar.

Ireland's humanitarian support is channelled to trusted partners on the ground, including UN Agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross Family. We provide flexible funding to enable our partners to respond to the most pressing needs. These partners are best placed to provide immediate life-saving assistance and to lay the foundations for building the resilience of communities where possible.

In response to a sharp rise in global humanitarian needs, Ireland's humanitarian expenditure has increased substantially in recent years. Humanitarian assistance provided through the Department of Foreign Affairs since 2017 has been as follows:

2017-€181 million

2018-€186 million

2019-€181 million

2020-€192 million

2021-€232 million

2022-over €280 million

The Irish Aid annual reports for the years 2017 to 2021 provide a significant level of detail on programmes and partners funded. The annual report, and final humanitarian aid figure, for 2022 will be published later this year. The 2022 figure reflects the provision of additional funding to respond to the humanitarian impact of the war in Ukraine and the devastating drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Under the rules for accounting for Official Development Assistance (ODA), managed by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), support for refugees within donor countries is included in ODA in accordance with clear criteria. Costs counted are for refugees' first 12 months only. They include all direct expenses for food, shelter, and training, as well as basic health care and psychosocial supports.

Preliminary analysis from the OECD shows that Ireland's total ODA in 2022 amounted to €2.33 billion, representing 0.64% of Gross National Income. This includes an estimated €884 million in eligible first-year costs in support of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine. None of these costs were sourced from the Government's allocation for ODA for 2022, and this will also be the case for 2023.