Ireland lauded as leading donor to world's neediest nations

Ireland is being praised as "one of the best performing donors" when it comes to giving aid to the world's neediest countries.

The OECD reports that almost a quarter of one percent of Ireland's income was spent on foreign aid in 2012 - exceeding the UN target of 0.15%.

The measure in question is Official Development Assistance to a list of Least Developed Countries. However, the think tank noted the State's foreign aid budget has reduced by nearly a third since 2008.

The top recipients of Irish aid in 2012 were Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia, with the core focus being on fighting hunger.

"Ireland remains an international leader on delivering effective aid," the OECD said, noting that Ireland makes good used of existing programmes and co-ordinated arrangements with other nations.

"Its approach to delivering the international aid effectiveness principles is good practice, and other DAC donors could learn from it. "