In Budget 2021 the Government allocated over €868 million for official development aid (ODA), an increase of four per cent on 2020. This also represents an increase in the proportion of GNI allocated to ODA, from 0.31 to 0.32% - a small but important progression towards the target of 0.7% by 2030. This year the priority will be to ensure the effective use of the Irish Aid international development programme to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the most vulnerable. This will include an increase in Irish funding for global health and food security initiatives, for access to education, for climate action, and for humanitarian relief.
Last year, the OECD published a review of Ireland's development cooperation policy, programme and systems in 2019/2020 which found Ireland to be a strong development partner, with many areas of excellence, and the quality and impact of Ireland’s development cooperation programme to be high. Also last year, a leading global development think tank, the Overseas Development Institute, ranked Ireland as the most principled donor, reflecting the quality of Ireland's approach to development cooperation.