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Overseas Development Aid

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 October 2022

Thursday, 6 October 2022

Questions (225)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

225. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent of Irelands bilateral aid and multilateral aid programme at present; when it is expected to meet the previously identified targets in overseas development aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49422/22]

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Written answers

In Budget 2023, the Government allocated a total of €1.22 billion for Official Development Assistance (ODA).  This is the highest ever allocation, representing an increase of 17% on 2022.  It includes an increase of €100 million for the international development programme administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs.  

In the context of serious budgetary pressures, this increased allocation is an important statement by the Government, of Ireland's solidarity with least developed countries.  It will enable us to maintain Ireland's strong focus on the impact of hunger, conflict, disease and climate change on the most vulnerable communities globally.  

The allocation to ODA for 2022 is €1.044 billion, which represented an increase of 20% on the previous year.  

These significant increases reflect the Government's commitment to the international target of providing 0.7% of GNI in ODA.  The percentage for the current year will be calculated next year, when full ODA eligible spending has been agreed in a statistical exercise conducted to agreed OECD standards.  Preliminary figures will be published by the OECD in April 2023.

Based on this verified statistical analysis, the Department of Foreign Affairs publishes an Annual Report on how Ireland's ODA programme is being channelled to deliver on the priorities articulated in A Better World. The report for 2021 will be published in the coming weeks.  It provides a breakdown of multilateral and bilateral aid funding for 2021 and 2020 across Departments, as in the following table.

 

2021

2020

Bilateral

 

 

Dept. of Foreign Affairs  – Vote 27

442.27

417.20

Other Government Departments 

  74.46

  40.88

Total Bilateral ODA

516.73

458.08

Multilateral

Dept. of Foreign Affairs  – Vote 27

126.45

127.90

Other Government Departments and Contributions to the

EU Development Cooperation Budget

 332.96

281.55

Total Multilateral ODA

459.41

409.45

Total ODA

976.14

867.53

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