BUDGET 2016: €40m extra for overseas aid

More than €640m will be spent overseas aid next year, with the Government committing more funding to the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and Africa.

The €40m extra allocated to the overseas aid budget is the first substantial increase in seven years.

It comes as the Government is developing a greater capacity to deploy Irish personnel overseas, be they military or civilian, in greater numbers because of the skill sets that they have.