New diplomatic missions part of foreign affairs budget

The State will open new resident diplomatic missions in Chile, Colombia, Jordan, Vancouver and Mumbai as part of the Government’s overall budget package.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the announcement of the new Irish Embassies and consulates were “important first steps in expanding our global footprint and diversifying our trade portfolio as we prepare for Brexit”.

The Government has allocated more than €707 million for Official Development Assistance (ODA). The bilateral aid programme, Irish Aid, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will increase by €13.5 million on last year.

Trócaire executive director Éamonn Meehan welcomed the announcement to increase ODA stating it was a “positive step” to achieving Ireland’s commitment to reduce global poverty.

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“Ireland’s future reputation and credibility as an international development actor hinges on meeting its 0.7 per cent UN target for ODA by 2025 in order to contribute to achieving the [UN] Sustainable Development Goals on which Ireland played a leading role,” Mr Meehan said.

“This budget shows progress on meeting this objective. However, the Government must now publish a timetable to outline exactly how we are going to meet our international obligations by 2025.

“The quality of Ireland’s aid is internationally renowned for its strong poverty reduction focus and Ireland’s ODA budget is responsible for life-changing and life-saving interventions in some of the world’s most difficult environments.”

Mr Meehan added that the announcement of an increase in ODA is timely as “deepening inequality, climate change and global conflict are contributing to the unprecedented level of humanitarian needs across the globe”.

“Since January 2017, the number of people needing humanitarian aid has risen by 12.5 million people to 141.1 million in 37 countries where natural disaster or conflict has destroyed lives,” he said.

“Irish people have always supported Trócaire’s work and are one of the most charitable nations in the world. This should be reflected in a government roadmap to meet international obligations.”

Dóchas, the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisation, said the increase in the overseas aid budget was a “welcome step” toward getting Ireland “back on track on our commitments on overseas aid”.

Dóchas chief executive Suzanne Keatinge said: “We are encouraged by remarks made by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, during his budget speech today that he intends for there to be a more substantial increase in funding for aid in Budget 2019.

“This echoes recent comments by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney. We will hold the Government to this commitment and we look forward to working with them on developing a published roadmap to achieving 0.7 per cent by 2025.”

Oxfam Ireland also welcomed the announcement but said “a clear plan is still needed on how Ireland intends to meet the 0.7 per cent target in ODA spending”.

Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee said the increased budget for the Department of Foreign Affairs was “extremely welcome”.

“Part of the increased funding will see an increased budget for programmes to support the work of the EU in Ireland that will assist the Government in developing a national debate about the future of Europe,” Ms McEntee said.