White Paper on Irish Aid

In 2006, the Irish Government developed Ireland’s first policy on overseas aid, following extensive public consultation. The White Paper on Irish Aid sets out a broad and ambitious agenda for Ireland in this area. It is currently being reviewed.

The White paper 2006 (PDF, 2.49mb), published in 2006, is a statement of Irish Government policy and is Ireland’s primary policy document in the area of overseas development.

The White Paper places the fight against hunger and global poverty at the heart of Ireland’s foreign policy. Its principles and decisions guide the direction of our aid programme.

The White Paper Review 2011-2012

A review of the White Paper on Irish Aid was announced in June 2011, following a commitment set down in the Programme for Government.

The review is being led by the Minister of State for Trade and Development Joe Costello TD. Independent oversight is being provided by the Irish Aid Expert Advisory Group.

With a view to setting out Ireland’s policy directions in this area for the coming years, the review is looking at the progress made by Irish Aid over the past six years and the changing national and international context in which development co-operation takes place.

The White Paper places the fight against hunger and global poverty at the heart of Ireland’s foreign policy.

Public consultation

The Review is informed by a Consultation Paper for the Review of the White Paper on Irish Aid (PDF, 486.3), which set the scene for the consultation meetings and for the written submissions that were received over the course of the Review.

An extensive consultation process was undertaken in 2012 as part of this Review. The major events included four large public consultations in Ireland and a regional consultation in Malawi.

The 2012 Department of Foreign Affairs NGO Forum on Human Rights was also dedicated to this subject. And a host of stakeholder meeting with internal and external actors were also held. Among these were discussions with: