The Move towards Multilateral Aid in Ireland's Overseas Development Programme (2008–2019)

Abstract

Abstract:Ireland's international development programme plays a significant part in its foreign economic policy. This review examines the trends and evolving structure of Ireland's official overseas aid programme from the financial crisis up to 2019, a period before the Covid-19 pandemic. We consider the move from bilateral relationships between Ireland as donor and recipient programme countries and an increasing emphasis on multilateral aid. Ireland's ability to address global concerns such as security, humanitarian action, climate breakdown and distributive inequality was best dealt with within a multilateral policy framework over the period. There has also been increasing commitment to engagement with international organisations, particularly the UN and the EU, as evidenced by Ireland's commitment to the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. During this period Ireland also embarked on a successful campaign to be elected a member of the UN Security Council by 2021.