The priorities for Ireland' programme of Official Development Assistance (ODA) are set out in the Government's international development policy, A Better World. We work directly and through partners in more than 130 countries, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Ireland aims to provide assistance to support the most vulnerable communities, through partnerships with governments, civil society groups, international organisations, the private sector, and Irish and other international non-governmental organisations.
For 2022, the Government provided a total allocation of €1.045 billion for ODA: €605 million allocated to Vote 27 of the Department of Foreign Affairs and a further €440 million, accounted for by the contributions of other Government Departments and Ireland's share of the EU Development Cooperation budget.
Each year the Department of Foreign Affairs reports to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) on overall expenditure on ODA against a set of internationally agreed statistical standards. Reporting for 2022 will be completed shortly. It will show the exceptional impact of ODA-eligible costs of first-year services for Ukrainian refugees in Ireland, and the impact of increased assessed contributions to the EU development cooperation budget. As a result, total ODA in 2022 reached €2.29 million, representing 0.64% of GNP. Excluding costs related to Ukrainian refugees, total ODA stood at €1.41 billion, or 0.39% of GNP.
In 2022, development and humanitarian programmes continued to face unprecedented challenges. As COVID-19 restrictions were slowly lifted, new crises emerged, including as a result of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continued drought in the Horn of Africa. Ireland’s humanitarian spending, from the ODA budget, reached over €280 million, an increase of 20% on 2021. Ireland continued to provide humanitarian assistance for crises in countries including Ethiopia, Somalia and Syria. In line with our commitment to forgotten crises, Ireland also stood by countries receiving less international attention, such as the Central African Republic, Sudan and Niger. Ireland’s humanitarian funding was channeled to a range of trusted partners, including UN agencies, NGOs, and the Red Cross Family, which have a strong track record in humanitarian action. These partners share Ireland’s commitment to reaching the furthest behind first, and target the most vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls and people living with disabilities.
For 2023, the Government has provided a gross allocation to ODA of over €1.233 billion. This is the ninth consecutive year in which the allocation for ODA has been increased. The increase this year included €100 million for Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs: €75 million to address the direct and indirect consequences of the war in Ukraine, and €25 million towards meeting our international climate finance commitments.
Of the total allocation of €1.233 billion, €517 million is accounted for by contributions by other Government Departments and Ireland's share of the EU Development cooperation budget. Spending through other Government departments includes Ireland’s consistent and increasing engagement on matters related to food and nutrition security, including significant funding by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine; Ireland’s commitment to climate finance, with funding channeled through the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications and a number of other Departments; and funding arising from Ireland’s membership of the African Development Bank and other International Financial Institutions, managed by the Department of Finance.
The outturn for 2023 is likely to be higher than the budget allocation, because of the rise in the numbers of refugees and people seeking inernational protection in Ireland. It should be noted that in 2022, and again in 2023, none of the costs associated with the reception of Ukrainian refugees has been sourced from the Government's original ODA allocation.
The Irish Aid Annual report for 2022 will be launched in October, and will provide full details on the programmes funded by ODA last year.
