Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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186. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a comprehensive breakdown of all Irish foreign aid spending for the past five years, including but not limited to (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25004/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Every year, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade publishes an Annual Report on Ireland's Official Development Assistance (ODA), which provides detailed breakdowns of the distribution of aid, including the amounts given to developing countries around the world, and the amounts allocated for different thematic priorities and to different partners. 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, and I expect that the Annual Report for 2024 will be published in September 2025.

The latest Annual Report and can be accessed at: www.ireland.ie/en/irish-aid/news-and-publications/annual-reports/annual-report-archive/annual-report-2023/

Ireland’s ODA 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.

There are significant safeguards in place for funding through each of these channels ensuring Ireland’s support is used effectively and reaches the beneficiaries for whom it is intended.

Bilateral programmes managed by our Embassies are subject to regular audit,  evaluation and other oversight mechanisms while detailed accountability mechanisms are also in place for funding to Ireland’s International NGO partners. The OECD has commended Ireland for the quality of our partnerships with international development NGOs.

In addition robust systems are in place on the traceability of Ireland’s funding to multilateral agencies. We have a strong reliance on the comprehensive internal and external oversight functions, which we and other international donors have insisted on for the multilateral agencies. Ireland also engages actively on Executive Boards at UN agency level and through the relevant oversight committees in the EU context.

Ireland’s involvement in and support of the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) ensures additional oversight and independent assessments of multilateral organisations.

The primary beneficiaries of Ireland’s ODA are those in greatest need around the world, including those living in some of the world’s poorest or most climate-exposed countries and those living in conflict settings. This is the central priority of A Better World, Ireland's International Development Policy. This means we fund the partners who are best placed to ensure aid reaches those for whom it is intended, with the core focus always being on reaching the furthest behind first.

Specifically, bilateral assistance has been provided for development activities in the following countries in the period between 2019 and 2023: