Foreign Affairs | To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which Ireland’s bilateral and multilateral  overseas aid programme continues to meet the needs of the people in the various locations for which it is intended with particular reference to the need to alleviate starvation and human rights abuses

To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which Ireland’s bilateral and multilateral  overseas aid programme continues to meet the needs of the people in the various locations for which it is intended with particular reference to the need to alleviate starvation and human rights abuses; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

A Better World, Ireland’s international development policy, focuses Irish Aid’s work on meeting the needs of the furthest behind first, with an emphasis on those in the world’s poorest or climate exposed countries, especially women and girls.  Delivering on the ambition of A Better World includes a focus on food security and on upholding the rights of those we support.  The allocation to Official Development Assistance for 2022 is €1 billion, the highest ever and a 20% increase on last year’s allocation. 

Ireland, through the Irish Aid programme, has a long tradition of assisting those most food insecure, through humanitarian action and also through investing in developing the agri-food chain in our partner countries.  This year, given the increase in hunger due to climate shocks and the invasion of Ukraine, I anticipate we will exceed the €193 million Irish Aid spent last year improving food security.  This cannot be separated from interlinked issues of climate and conflict.  

Our Irish Aid interventions are augmented by our work on the Security Council on the Conflict and Hunger file, where Ireland is penholder, including a high profile meeting last month in New York.

With human rights a key foreign policy priority for Ireland, governance and rights is at the heart of Irish Aid interventions.  Through the aid programme, and through our Embassies, the Department supports the work of human rights defenders.  This is augmented by support to United Nations agencies and our contribution to the work of the Human Rights Council and on the Security Council.

Underpinning Irish Aid’s work is a commitment to quality.  This has been internationally recognised, including in 2020, by an OECD review which found that Irish Aid ‘walks the talk’, with Irish funding reaching the poor and poorest countries. The respected international think tank, ODI, has consistently found Ireland to be the most principled donor country.