Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 October 2019
53. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the allocation to overseas development aid in 2020; the expected percentage this will be in respect of the ODA-GNI target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44163/19]
View answerIreland's development cooperation programme is an integral part of our foreign policy and an important statement of our global citizenship. For 2020, the Government has allocated almost €838 million for Official Development Assistance (ODA) - an increase of just under €21 million on the 2019 budget allocations.
Based on the Department of Finance Budget Day forecast for GNI 2020, we expect the ODA/GNI % to be in the region of 0.31%.
Budget 2020 was prepared in exceptional circumstances and on the basis of Government assessments of the implications of a possible no deal Brexit. In that context, the 2020 target of €838 million is a significant budgetary commitment by the Government to international development. The additional resources provided continue the upward trajectory in allocations to ODA over the past six years, and provide the basis to begin to grow Ireland's development cooperation programme and to deliver on some of the initiatives and commitments in A Better World, Ireland’s policy for international development.
As outlined in the Global Ireland 2025 Strategy and in A Better World, the Government remains committed to sustained, substantial and carefully managed increments in ODA in order to deliver 0.7% by 2030.
