Written answers

Thursday, 16 October 2025

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Budget 2026

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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141. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a breakdown of the allocation towards international climate finance in Budget 2026; the pledged amounts from other Government Departments and other sources; if the allocation for climate finance will reach the €225 million committed to, under Ireland’s International Climate Finance Roadmap 2022; the successor strategy which will be put in place to continue the aims and objectives of the roadmap; the reason climate finance allocations are not mentioned in his Department’s budget press release or in his Department’s section in the Expenditure Report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56083/25]

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The provision of climate finance to developing countries is an integral aspect of Ireland’s foreign policy, and especially our international development cooperation.

At COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021, the Taoiseach announced that Ireland would provide at least €225 million in international climate finance to developing countries annually, by 2025. The target represents a more than doubling of our climate finance from 2020 levels.

Ireland’s International Climate Finance Roadmap (2022) sets out our strategy and priorities for this scale-up in funding. It builds on Ireland's positive record on climate finance, maintaining a focus on adaptation in some of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. It also expands our focus in key areas including ocean protection, biodiversity, and Loss and Damage.

The Government is committed to delivering on the Roadmap and has steadily increased our annual international climate-related expenditure. In 2023, the last year for which complete, verified data are available, Ireland provided €159.2 million in international climate finance. We are fully on track to reach the €225 million target this year, 2025.

An external review of the 2022 Roadmap has been completed in 2025, and it will be used to inform climate finance expenditure in the period 2026-2030.

In Budget 2026, the Government has provided an increase in Official Development Assistance of €30 million for 2026, for the programme of international development cooperation managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This will bring that expenditure to over €840 million, the highest ever allocation in the history of the Irish Aid programme. The entirety of Ireland’s ODA is assessed for climate relevance to calculate our total climate finance contribution and to ensure we continue to meet our climate finance commitments and targets.

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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142. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total amount allocated towards Official Development Aid (ODA) in Budget 2026; the total amount allocated towards International Climate Finance as distinct from ODA, including from all sources outside his Department’s vote; if he will provide the same figures for each budget for the previous five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56084/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under Budget 2026 the allocation for the Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is €840.3 million. This is the highest ever level in the 52-year history of the Irish Aid programme. The following are the equivalent amounts for recent years:

€ Millions 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
DFAT Vote 27 ODA Budget Allocation 840 810 775 705 605 571 551
Ireland’s total annual ODA also includes contributions from other Government Departments, Ireland's share of the EU Development Cooperation Budget, and eligible supports for refugees in their first year in Ireland.

To calculate the total amount allocated towards International climate finance spending, all ODA spending is assessed for climate-relevance, retrospectively. The last year for which complete data are available is 2023.

The figure provided for 2024 is an estimate, and a finalised figure will be published following verification of Ireland’s Official Development Assistance data by the OECD, which is expected later this year.

€ Millions 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
Climate Finance - - €190 est. 159 121 100 88
International climate finance is a priority for the Government and for Ireland’s foreign policy.

The Government has made significant progress in scaling up Ireland's international climate finance in recent years. Ireland’s International Climate Finance Roadmap sets out how we will deliver on the target of providing at least €225 million annually in climate finance by 2025. This target constitutes a more than doubling of Ireland's climate finance since it was made by the Taoiseach at COP 26 in 2021. We are fully on track to meet this target this year.

The Government reports annually on our climate finance yearly contributions to the European Union, to the OECD and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also publishes an annual Climate and Environmental Finance Report, providing comprehensive information regarding funding sources, thematic and geographic priorities, and disbursement channels.

These reports are available online at: www.ireland.ie/en/irish-aid/news-and-publications/publications/.

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