Overseas Development Aid

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Questions (6, 7)

Sorca Clarke

Question:

6. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of Ireland’s GNI allocated to official development aid in 2024. [36483/25]

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7. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a breakdown of Ireland’s official development aid spending in 2024, between bilateral and multilateral channels, including funding to international organisations such as the UN, EU and the World Bank. [36484/25]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together.

Ireland's international development programme focusses on providing support for countries and communities most seriously in need. The Government's policy for international development, 'A Better World,' provides the framework, with the objective of reaching the furthest behind first and addressing the needs of those living in some of the world’s poorest or most climate-exposed countries and those living in areas affected by conflict.

Preliminary figures for 2024 place Ireland’s total Official Development Assistance (ODA) at over €2.2 billion, which represents a total of 0.57% ODA % GNP. With ODA eligible supports for refugees from Ukraine excluded, the preliminary figure for ODA % GNP is 0.41%. This is an increase from 0.38% in 2023.

It is important to note that ODA eligible refugee costs are reported as ODA retrospectively, and funding was not taken from the ODA allocations for the Irish Aid programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 2022, 2023 or 2024. This will remain the case in 2025.

The latest year for which full statistical detail of our ODA is available is 2023. Out of Ireland’s €2.6 billion in Official Development Assistance in 2023, €1.97 billion was provided as bilateral assistance, or €838 million with supports for refugees from Ukraine excluded. €629 million was provided as core support to multilateral organisations.

Total funding of €368 million was provided to and through the European Union, €306 million to and through the United Nations, and €71.8 million to and through the World Bank.

Every year, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade publishes an Annual Report on Ireland's ODA, which provides detailed breakdowns of the distribution of aid, including the amounts given to developing countries around the world, and the amounts allocated for different thematic priorities and to different partners. I expect that the Annual Report for 2024 will be published in September 2025.

Question No. 7 answered with Question No. 6.