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Overseas Development Aid

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 December 2019

Wednesday, 18 December 2019

Questions (98)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

98. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the partner organisations Ireland will be working with as part of his commitment to provide at least €250 million over the next five years for global education with a focus on improving access to quality education for girls and access to education in emergencies, the knowledge and information they need to protect themselves from HIV, including through keeping girls in school and supporting comprehensive sexuality education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53632/19]

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Written answers

The Government’s new Policy for International Development, A Better World, makes a commitment to contribute at least €250 million to improve global education between 2019 and 2023 with a specific focus on education in emergencies and girls’ education. The Government is delivering on this commitment through bilateral and multilateral partnerships, selecting modalities and partners on the basis of the most effective and efficient means of achieving these objectives. 

The Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait are the two main global partnerships funded by Ireland. The Global Partnership for Education supports over 65 low or lower middle-income countries in their efforts to develop and implement quality education plans, focusing on effective and efficient education systems, equity and gender equality.  Ireland doubled its funding to the Global Partnership for Education to €25 million between 2018-2020.

In September, I pledged a contribution of €6 million to the Education Cannot Wait Fund.  This fund is specifically dedicated to supporting students and teachers in emergency and protracted crises and to date has reached more than 1.4 million children in 32 countries.

In addition Ireland supports education for children and youth through bilateral programmes in Palestine, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia.

In Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and in partnership with UNESCO Ireland works to reduce early and unintended pregnancies, HIV and STI infections, and gender-based violence through good quality comprehensive sexuality education programmes integrated into education curricula.

Through partnerships with Irish, African and International NGOs such as Aidlink, the Campaign for Female Education, Girl Child Network, Misean Cara, Plan International Ireland, and World Vision Ireland, Ireland supports quality education for girls and for children in emergencies.   

While we are already scaling up support for global education, we are also looking at further opportunities to strengthen our support for education globally and to specifically to deliver on the commitments in A Better World to girls’ education and education in emergencies.

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