Development Partners Snapshot:
IRELAND
COUNTRY CONTEXT
Development policy:
The Development Co-operation and Africa Division within DFAT steers and co-ordinates Irish development co-operation policies. DFAT manages the largest share of Irish ODA. In addition, the department is responsible for EU co-operation, while contributions to the EU budget are provided by the Department of Finance.
KEY GOVERNMENT ENTITY ON DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION
Department of Foreign Affairs
ODA TRENDS
Ireland provided USD 1.2 billion of ODA in 2021, representing 0.31% of GNI. This was an increase of 14.8% in real terms in volume but did not represent a change in share of GNI from 2020. Following a decline from more than 0.5% in 2011 to 0.32% in 2015, ODA as a share of GNI has not increased since. Ireland is not in line with its domestic and EU commitments to achieve a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio by 2030. Ireland provided all of its ODA as grants in 2020.
Ireland ranks 14th in terms of ODA as a share of GNI. It stands out for the highest share of bilateral ODA provided to fragile contexts (52.7% in 2020), and high shares to the LDCs (48.6%) and Africa (51.3%), in line with its policy. In 2020, Ireland had the highest share of core contributions to CSOs (18.9%). A very significant share of its programmes target gender equality (79.7%), compared to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) average of 44.6%.
EFFECTIVENESS PERFORMANCE
Global Partnership monitoring trend
Click here for a snapshot of Ireland's results from the two most recent Global Partnership monitoring rounds (2018 and 2016). The Global Partnership monitoring process and framework have been revised, and the new round will take place from 2023 to 2026. This profile will be updated periodically as new data is generated by the monitoring exercise.
Use of monitoring results
- Data from the last monitoring round (2018) was used in Ireland’s 2020 peer review.
DAC Performance and Trends - 2019 GPEDC Progress Report
LEARN MORE
The 2020 OECD-DAC peer review found that Ireland is a strong voice for sustainable development. Quality partnerships with civil society, staunch support for multilateralism and good humanitarian donorship are hallmarks of its development co-operation. The vision and ambition of “A Better World” require Ireland to increase its ODA as planned, develop guidance and a new results management approach, and undertake strategic workforce planning. Ireland’s next mid-term review is planned for 2023.