Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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52. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he can confirm that maintaining or increasing current levels of EU overseas development aid both unilaterally and collectively will be a priority during Ireland's upcoming Presidency, including in relation to the next MFF process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41318/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I look forward to engaging on Ireland's Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026, when international development issues will be important on the agenda.

On 16 July, the Commission published its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which is due to run from 2028 to 2034.

To ensure that our priorities were well communicated and understood, Ireland’s comprehensive national position paper on the post-2027 MFF was submitted to the Commission in June. We are determined to play our part as a constructive partner in the MFF negotiations.

The Commission proposal involves major changes in structure, in spending and in revenue, which we are now studying in detail, in order to better understand the impact on Ireland across key policy areas, and its wider impact on the Single Market, on our fellow Member States, and further afield in terms of the EU’s influence globally.

This begins a process of several years of negotiations, with the Member States and with the European Parliament. Irish Ministers and officials will play an active role in these negotiations in order to ensure our interests and priorities are protected in the final agreement. We will also play a key role during our Presidency of the Council as an honest broker in negotiating workable compromises for an ambitious budget for the EU.

In relation to ODA, the proposed Global Europe Instrument represents a significant merger of major instruments in external action: enlargement, neighbourhood, development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. It will be critical that interaction between these priorities is very clearly defined and clearly assigned within the proposal.

Ireland believes that the next MFF must maintain the EU’s leadership in providing development and humanitarian assistance, in a sustained, long-term manner with global partners, and focusing on the most vulnerable.

External action financing must continue to defend the rules-based international order, democracy, multilateralism including through engagement with the United Nations, human rights, gender equality, climate action and sustainable development, underpinned by the core principle of untied aid and the central promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind.

Ensuring adequate attention to peace, stability, conflict prevention and building social cohesion in fragile contexts is crucial, as is the ability to react to serious humanitarian crises.

It is clear from discussions in Brussels with our EU partners that there must be a sharp focus in all ODA on development outcomes – on the quality of our ODA and not solely on its quantity. The Government has reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to our Official Development Assistance (ODA), working towards achieving the target of 0.7% of Gross National Income.