Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 March 2015
454. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 138 of 1 October 2014, if he will report on progress, on reaching the target of 0.7% of GDP on overseas aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10353/15]
View answer460. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress towards raising Ireland's overseas aid to 0.7% of national income. [10401/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 454 and 460 together.
The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme, which is at the heart of our foreign policy. Our policy on International Development, “One World, One Future”, reaffirms our commitment to achieving the UN target of providing 0.7% of Gross National Product (GNP) for Official Development Assistance (ODA), when economic circumstances permit.
Our aim since 2011 has been to protect, as far as possible, allocations to for the aid programme. Despite the very difficult economic circumstances we faced over this period, the Government has successfully managed to stabilise allocations to the programme. The OECD Development Assistance Committee’s peer review of Ireland, published last December, clearly recognises and commends our efforts to protect and stabilise the allocation for the aid programme, and describes as “exemplary” Ireland‘s approach in managing the aid budget during the economic crisis. The most recent statistics published by the OECD, for 2013, place Ireland’s ODA at 0.46% of GNP.
For 2015, we have again protected the overall allocations to the aid programme, and have provided a total of just over €600 million for ODA. Significantly, this represents a small increase on the 2014 level. As our economic recovery consolidates and strengthens, I am determined to set out the strongest possible case for building further on our current commitment to the aid programme.
Our priority now is to ensure we continue to focus on tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice, strengthening our key partner countries ability to deliver essential services to their citizens, and delivering real and sustainable improvements to the lives of some of the world’s poorest people and communities.
