Written answers
Tuesday, 23 July 2024
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Overseas Development Aid
Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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29.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Ireland’s total contribution to overseas development aid in the years 2019 to date; the associated percentage of gross national income or other relevant metric; the projected contribution and associated metrics for the years 2024 to 2030, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31539/24]
Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland’s policy for international development, A Better World, sets out the priorities for our development assistance across government departments. It focuses on addressing the needs of countries and communities which are furthest behind, with a particular emphasis on the poorest or most climate-exposed regions.
This support is delivered through our bilateral development programme, channelled through bilateral programmes managed by our Embassies in developing countries, through civil society and humanitarian organisations, and through multilateral organisations such as the United Nations.
The full breakdown of Ireland’s development cooperation programme can be found in the Irish Aid annual reports which are available online: www.ireland.ie/en/irish-aid/news-and-publications/annual-reports/annual-report-archive/
For ease of reference a table setting out Ireland’s ODA expenditure from 2019 to 2023 is provided below.
ODA Expenditure 2019-2023, €000s (as per Annual Reports)
| - | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total ODA | 869,874 | 867,530 | 976,140 | 2,291,126 | 2,603,501 |
| Total ODA, excluding eligible first-year costs for refugees from Ukraine | 869,874 | 867,530 | 976,140 | 1,411,124 | 1,465,907 |
| Total ODA as a percentage of GNI | 0.32% | 0.31% | 0.30% | 0.63% | 0.67% |
| ODA as a percentage of GNI not including support to hosting refugees from Ukraine | 0.32% | 0.31% | 0.30% | 0.39% | 0.38% |
It is worth noting that for 2024, the Government has provided €775.3 million for the international development assistance programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs. This is the highest ever allocation by Government, in the 50th anniversary year of the establishment of the Irish Aid programme. In Budget 2024, it was estimated that overall ODA would amount to €1.998 billion in 2024, but this is subject to confirmation, as some of the elements will be calculated retrospectively. Preliminary overall figures for ODA will be submitted to and published by the OECD in April 2025.
Preparations for the Estimates for Budget 2025 are now under way.
The Government will continue to work to increase Ireland's ODA in line with relevant commitments, including the commitment to provide at least €225 million annually in international climate finance by 2025.
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