Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2021
26. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of the work being carried out to meet Ireland’s commitment to allocating 0.7% of gross national income to overseas development assistance. [46847/21]
View answer76. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland will commit to a targeted pathway of achieving 0.5% gross national income to official development assistance in order that Ireland can reach the 0.7% in 2030 as committed to in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47189/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 76 together.
The Government is committed to achieving the UN Official Development Assistance target of 0.7% of GNI by 2030, as set out in A Better World, Ireland's International Development policy, and re-iterated in the Programme for Government. It is important that we do so in a responsible way. Ireland's development programme has a strong global reputation. This reputation was confirmed in the Peer Review of Ireland’s Development Assistance, issued by the OECD earlier this year. Our ambition to meet this important target must not see ODA quantity come at the cost of its quality.
Our ODA allocation has increased in real terms for the last seven consecutive years. The recent strong recovery in GNI means that to achieve modest increases as a proportion of GNI, ODA will need to continue to increase in real terms. My Department is currently reviewing and building systems that will enable our development programme to grow further, including as a proportion of GNI, in a sustainable way. This also includes working in coordination with other Government Departments and bodies spending Official Development Assistance, and with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on allocations to ODA.
