Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 November 2020
432. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which Irish aid is being distributed annually under the multilateral aid programme and separately under bilateral aid agreements; the degree to which continued support is offered to achieve value for money for such donations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38706/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2019, Ireland provided a total of €869.87 million in official overseas development assistance. Of this, €512.44 million (or 58.9%) was bilateral aid, and €357.44 million (or 41.1%) was multilateral aid.
Both bilateral and multilateral channels play important and complementary roles in ensuring that Ireland’s ODA is directed to where it is needed most and in the most appropriate and effective way: this approached enabled a respected think tank, ODI, to find Ireland to be the most principled donor in its 2020 index, the second successive year in which Ireland scored highest.
The OECD DAC Peer Review of Ireland’s ODA programme, published this year, noted that “Ireland’s long-standing commitment to engaging in partnerships is the trademark of [Ireland’s] development programme”. These partnerships, with Governments, CSOs, UN agencies and others extend beyond funding. The continued support and engagement Ireland offers in these partnerships is central to ensuring that Ireland’s ODA is used effectively and achieves value for money, against the backdrop of risk management processes the OECD found to be 'clear' and controls to be 'effective'.
