Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

37. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the tangible measures Ireland can take to fill the gap in international aid budgets now that leading donor countries have cut or indicated an intention to cut aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45052/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to follow closely reports and announcements related to cuts to aid and development spending. Through Ireland’s Embassies and Missions we are monitoring the impact on partnerships and programmes on the ground. We are consulting constantly with our partners as the situation evolves, including with UN agencies and international NGOs.

Ireland recognises that the international development community needs to make major decisions on how best to address immediate needs while planning for effective development cooperation in the longer term. Ireland is actively engaged in these conversations, with EU Member States and other donors and in forums such as the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee as it looks to the future of international development cooperation. We are also engaging with the UN80 reform initiative launched in March.

The Government remains fully committed to Ireland's international development cooperation commitments, to reducing humanitarian need, and to reaching the furthest behind first. The Government has reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to our official development assistance, working towards the target of 0.7% of Gross National Income.

The Government works with the EU and Members States on the EU’s collective response to changes in the funding environment. The EU is in an important position to fill a leadership vacuum in relation to human rights, peace and stability, and sustainable development.

It remains the case that it is not viable for Ireland alone to make up the funding shortfall resulting from the cuts to official development assistance by the US and other aid donors. However, we are absolutely committed to providing support that is both predictable and flexible, and to maintaining our ODA priorities, focused on ending poverty and hunger in the world. I have made this clear in international meetings and in my visits to seven African countries in recent months.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

38. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress that has been made to date towards achieving the target of 0.7% of gross national income being spent on official development aid; the steps his Department hopes to achieve in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45053/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Government remains committed to the target agreed at the UN to provide 0.7% of Gross National Income in Official Development Assistance (ODA). The commitment was reaffirmed in 2019 in A Better World, Ireland's International Development Policy, and again in the Programme for Government.

Ireland’s ODA consists of funding for programmes through the international development assistance programme, Irish Aid, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; contributions for international development from other Government Departments; Ireland's share of the EU Development Cooperation Budget; and eligible supports for refugees in their first year in Ireland. It is important to note that the refugee costs eligible for reporting as ODA are calculated retrospectively, and that no such funding has been sourced from the allocation for the Irish Aid programme.

Ireland’s total ODA for 2024 was €2.35 billion, representing 0.56% of Gross National Income (GNI). With first-year Ukrainian refugee costs excluded, the percentage of GNI was 0.41%.

In recent years, the Government has consistently increased the allocation for the Irish Aid programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with a view to addressing the needs of those living in some of the world’s poorest or most climate-exposed countries and those living in areas affected by conflict. For 2025 this allocation stands at €810.3 million, up from €775 million in 2024. It is the highest ever allocation in the 51-year history of Ireland's development programme.

In line with the Programme for Government and our International Development Policy, we are committed to maintaining our focus on the furthest behind in 2026, and to providing the budgetary resources necessary to do so.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

39. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department will use Ireland's Presidency of the EU to place a focus on the gaps in international aid; if consideration will be given to convening an EU conference on the issue during the Irish Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45054/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I look forward to engaging on Ireland's EU Presidency in the second half of 2026, when international development issues will be an important part of the agenda.

Work on the development of Ireland’s Presidency priorities is now in hand, taking into account the EU's Strategic Agenda for 2024-29, the legislative programme proposed by the European Commission, and the Government’s overall EU priorities. Negotiation of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028-2034 will be a significant area of work during the Presidency. Our policy programme will be published, as is usual practice, shortly before the start of our Presidency term, in June 2026.

Work is also underway to plan the programme of meetings and events to be hosted in Ireland during the Presidency term. These meetings will include opportunities for high-level discussions on international development issues.

On 16 July, the Commission published its proposal for the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) which is due to run from 2028 to 2034. Ireland will play an active role in negotiations on this budget over the coming period in order to ensure our interests and priorities are protected in the final agreement.

We will also play a key role during the Presidency as an honest broker in negotiating workable compromises for an ambitious MFF for 2028-2034. That the EU will now be the world's largest ODA provider, will inform these discussions.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been following closely the reports and announcements by a number of major donors which are reducing their Official Development Assistance (ODA). The OECD estimated recently that global ODA may be reduced in 2025 by up to 17%, with further reductions projected for the coming years. Least developed countries are projected to see a fall in net ODA of up to 25%, with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa particularly affected.

When I attended the Financing for Development Conference in Seville in July, followed by the meeting of G20 development ministers in South Africa at the end of July, the implications of the significant cuts in aid were high on the agenda. I also discussed the situation during my visits to Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Ireland is engaging with partner governments, UN agencies and NGOs assuring them that we will continue to provide support that is both predictable and flexible with a view to helping partners adapt as well as possible to the rapidly changing context. The Government has also reaffirmed Ireland's commitment to our Official Development Assistance, working towards achieving the target of 0.7% of Gross National Income.