Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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264. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a detailed breakdown of Ireland’s overseas development aid expenditure for the most recent fiscal year, including the total amount disbursed, the specific countries or regions to which aid was allocated, and the respective sums received by each. [23288/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Government is firmly committed to Ireland’s international development assistance programme and its overriding priority, to reach the furthest behind first. The latest year for which full statistical detail of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) is available is 2023. Detailed preliminary figures for 2024 will be available in the coming months. In 2023, the top ten recipient countries of Ireland's Bilateral ODA were as follows;

The list of the top 30 recipient countries is available as an Annex to the 2023 Irish Aid Annual Report, which has full details on Ireland's ODA. It can be accessed at;

In addition to our bilateral ODA, Ireland provided a total of €629 million in assistance through multilateral channels in 2023. This comprised €137 million through the Department of Foreign Affairs, €145.5 million through other Government Departments and €346.5 as Ireland's share of the EU Development Cooperation Budget.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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267. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide information on the standard agreements or accountability mechanisms used to govern overseas development aid flows; if he will list all partner organisations (including NGOs, international agencies or government ministries) through which aid was channelled; if he will indicate whether any aid is disbursed or spent within the State itself (e.g. on consultancy, administration, education or awareness programmes); if he will provide an estimate of the economic return to Ireland, if any, in terms of trade, procurement or services purchased from Ireland by recipient countries or implementing agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23291/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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265. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the purposes for which overseas development aid was intended in each case (e.g. humanitarian assistance, health, education, governance). [23289/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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266. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will confirm the checks, conditions or safeguards in place to ensure that funds for overseas development aid are not diverted to military or security expenditure in recipient states. [23290/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 267, 265 and 266 together.

The Government is firmly committed to Ireland’s international development assistance programme and its overriding priority, to reach the furthest behind first.

The budget for Vote 27 of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to manage the Irish Aid programme in 2025 is €810.3 million, the highlest level ever.

We deliver this support through our bilateral development programme, channelled through Irish Embassies in relevant countries, through civil society and humanitarian organisations and through multilateral organisations, including the United Nations.

Robust systems are in place on the traceability of Ireland’s funding to multilateral agencies. We have a strong reliance on the strong internal and external oversight functions, which we and other international donors have insisted on for the multilateral agencies. Detailed reports and recommendations on the use of funding are presented to us at Executive Board level and committees in the EU context.

Ireland engages actively on the Executive Boards of UN agencies. We seek continued improvements in risk mitigation, coherence, transparency, accountability and safeguarding. Ireland’s involvement in and support of the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) ensures additional oversight and independent assessments of multilateral organisations. We encourage multilateral agencies to utilise the findings of MOPAN assessments as a means for improvement, with a view to increasing effectiveness.

In addition, the Government provides funding to international development NGOs to implement programmes and projects in those countries which are classified by the OECD as eligible for ODA. We implement detailed accountability mechanisms for this funding. The OECD has commended Ireland for the quality of our partnerships with international development NGOs. We focus funding on NGO partners which are best placed to ensure aid reaches those for whom it is intended, with the focus on the reaching the furthest behind first.

Each year, the Department publishes an Annual Report on Ireland's ODA. It represents a core accountability and transparency mechanism, providing a detailed overview of expenditure, and demonstrating results achieved. The latest year for which full statistical detail of our ODA is available is 2023. Preliminary figures for 2024 will be available in the coming months.

The Annual Report provides statistical information collated in accordance with agreed OECD standards on programme expenditure which show the amounts given through the various channels and countries, the distribution of aid, and the amounts allocated to priority focus areas.

The latest Annual Report and can be accessed at;

The Department of Foreign Affairs has a number of funding schemes that support our other priorities at home and abroad. Information on these schemes and on the amounts of grants disbursed are available here: gov - Department of Foreign Affairs Funding (www.gov.ie).

Through our active membership of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee we report on Ireland’s ODA expenditure internationally in accordance with common ODA standards. We also actively participate in decisions about what these standards should be. Periodically, our development programme is reviewed by OECD peer countries. The most recent such review, in 2020, found that Ireland is a strong development partner that 'walks the talk' on its poverty focus and on its commitment to least developed countries.

The Department also commissions external expertise where highly specialised skills are not available internally and in particular where ongoing independent evaluation of programmes and projects is required. In-depth analysis of issues by external experts has informed our policy and programmatic development, allowing for a more targeted use of resources and greater accountability in the allocation of budgets.