Irish Aid Annual Report shows record investment in Ireland’s ODA

Press release

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin T.D., and Minister for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming T.D., today launched the Irish Aid Annual Report for 2022, which showed record levels of investment in Ireland’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).

The Annual Report shows that Ireland’s ODA in 2022 was €2.3 billion or 0.63% of Gross National Income (GNI). This includes approximately €900 million spent on assisting Ukrainian people seeking refuge in Ireland.

Discounting the support provided to Ukrainian refugees in Ireland, Ireland’s ODA for 2022 stood at €1.4 billion. This figure represents an increase of approximately 40% on the previous highest ODA figure of €976m recorded in 2021.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said:

“Ireland’s response to global crises was unprecedented in 2022. Never before has Ireland invested so much in Official Development Assistance to provide support, assistance and aid to people around the world.

“2022 was dominated by the brutal, illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. That war has led to a serious humanitarian crisis in Europe, but has also exacerbated the food crisis around the world, particularly in Africa.

“Far from diverting our assistance from Africa to Ukraine, Ireland rapidly scaled up its support for communities needing support, particularly in the Horn of Africa where we invested €100 million in response to the worsening food crisis. We did this while also providing significant support to people in Ukraine and providing shelter to 85,000 Ukrainians in Ireland.

“Ireland can be proud that our values of fairness, equality and solidarity continue to shine a light of hope in the lives of so many people around the world.”

Minister Sean Fleming said:

“The work of Irish Aid is known around the world for the impact it has on people’s lives. In 2022 we responded to unexpected crises such as the war in Ukraine, while also significantly increasing investment in areas such as education and gender equality. These longer term development issues are fundamental for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

“This report highlights the extent of Ireland’s commitment to working with our international partners to tackle the issues that continue to blight too many lives around the world.”

Download the annual report here. 

Additional information:

• 2022 saw record investment in Irish Aid. Excluding costs associated with hosting Ukrainian refugees, Ireland’s ODA in 2022 (€1.4bn) increased by approximately 40% from 2021 levels (€976m). The previous four highest ODA allocations were recorded in 2021 (€976m), 2008 (€921m), 2007 (€871m) and 2019 (€870m).
• The five countries which received the highest amounts of bilateral ODA support from Ireland in 2022 were: Ukraine (€53m), Ethiopia (€41m), Mozambique (€27m), Tanzania (€25m) and Uganda (€24m).
• Including in-country refugee costs, Ireland’s ODA for 2022 represented 0.63% of GNI. Excluding the cost of hosting Ukrainian refugees, ODA levels represented 0.39% of GNI. This is the highest percentage spend in almost a decade.
• Irish Aid is a whole-of-Government programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Contributions to Ireland’s ODA are made from a range of Departments, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Finance, Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Department of Health, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

ENDS

Press Office

4 October 2023

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