Government to increase overseas aid by €115m for next 10 years

The Government is to increase its overseas aid spending by around €115m every year for the next decade.

The target for Ireland, set by the United Nations, is included in a new policy for international development called “A Better World”.

Currently, the State spends over €800m a year on its overseas aid programmes, across 130 countries.

The additional funding is to be used for initiatives on gender equality, climate action and combatting poverty.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said serious budget choices will have to be made.

He said: "We intend to reach the international target for overseas development assistance of 0.7% of GNI by 2030.

"We didn't make this commitment as a Government lightly and those of you who understand where we are today and where we are promising where we are going to be will realise that this will involve difficult choices for future Governments in terms of how the prioritise spend."