Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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144. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on the progress made towards achieving the 0.7% of gross national income being spent on official development aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56942/25]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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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 from various sources, the principal of which is Irish Aid, Ireland’s development assistance programme, which is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Other sources include 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.

It is important to note that the refugee costs eligible for reporting as ODA are calculated retrospectively, and that no such funding has ever 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 2026 this allocation stands at €840.3 million, an increase of €30 million on 2025. This is the highest ever allocation in the 52-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 to enable us to do so.