From:Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Thank you for the invitation to speak at the Institute of International and European Affairs today. As always, it is a privilege to address this audience as part of the Development Matters lecture series and to discuss my priorities for international development for this year, with a particular focus onDevelopment and the EU Presidency– which, it is hard to believe, will have commenced by this time next week.

I’m going to start by providing a bit of context.

Progress in eradicating extreme poverty has slowed down in the past decade due to several interconnected crises, including slow economic growth, high indebtedness, conflict and fragility, and severe weather related shocks. An estimated 826 million people live below the latest extreme poverty line of three dollars per person per day. Based on current trends, we expect nine percent of the global population will still be living in poverty in 2030. We have similarly stark figures for food and hunger, with about 307 million people affected by hunger in Africa.

But we are seeing some changes.

Extreme poverty is increasingly becoming a phenomenon associated with contexts of extreme or high fragility. While these areas are home to 25% of the world’s population, 72% of the extreme poor live in these regions. Sub-Saharan Africa, where 16% of the world’s population live, is now home to 67% of people living in extreme poverty.

Global poverty remains predominantly rural and children now comprise half of all people living in extreme poverty, while people with disabilities continue to make up a disproportionate percentage of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged.

Humanitarian needs globally are rising at an unprecedented rate. Severe crises are being witnessed in Ukraine, in Palestine, Sudan, the Greater Horn of Africa, the Sahel, the Eastern DRC and the Great Lakes region and the wider Middle East.

The conflict in the Middle East and the disruption it has caused will continue to have a huge impact on global food security. The conflict has already triggered additional humanitarian needs leading to displacements of populations. The countries that will be most affected, are already amongst the poorest and most fragile.

The current crisis is also a systemic shock to the global agri-food system that has left the world on the brink of a historic hunger emergency. While we might hope to see a return to previous trading patterns, it is clear this will not happen for a considerable amount of time.

All of this comes at a time when there has been a significant decline in the volume of Official Development Assistance, or ODA. Figures from the Development Assistance Committee in the OECD show that this has fallen by over 23 per cent between 2024 and 2025, the largest annual drop in the history of ODA. Projections for this year suggest that there will be a further seven per cent drop in 2026.

However, as I have said many times – the challenges we are facing are not just financial. We are seeing substantial changes in priorities amongst countries that we would once have considered like-minded. This is bringing a pronounced shift away from a focus on human development towards an exclusive emphasis on economic development, heavily structured around investment, ‘mutually beneficial partnerships’ and private capital mobilisation.

There is also a change in where ODA is going – the large-scale reallocation by European donors towards Ukraine, away from Africa and least developed countries, has been sustained.

But perhaps more concerning, we increasingly see that our core values are being challenged. We are deeply concerned by the unprecedented levels of organised pushback against human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and LGBTQI+ rights that have begun to unravel decades of progress. The pushback has the potential to undermine the legitimacy of the global human rights agenda, and to curtail achievement of the equality ambitions central to the Sustainable Development Goals.

All of this makes discussions around the future of development cooperation both timely and challenging.

On the one hand, these discussions are happening as part of the reform of the multilateral system. In particular, through UN80 and the humanitarian reset; the negotiations on the Global Europe Instrument as part of the EU’s next seven year multi-annual financial framework; and the review of the Development Assistance Committee.

But these processes are being matched with a flurry of international coalitions and conferences – to name a few: the OECD’s conference on the future of development cooperation, the French-led Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, the UK’s International Partnership Conference, the upcoming Hamburg Sustainability Conference, theFuture of Development Cooperation Coalitionand the ‘Accra Reset’.

All of these discussions continue to grapple with the meaning of ‘mutually beneficial partnerships’. There is a focus on the type of relationship we need to see develop between countries; how to place official development assistance in the context of the totality of financial flows to developing countries; the role of the domestic private sector in development cooperation; and in certain cases, how to curb irregular migration.

Some of you will have heard me say at the Dóchas event yesterday that global challenges cannot be solved by one country alone, and that this reinforces what has been chosen by Government as the central theme of our upcoming Presidency, the Irish proverb – “Ní neart go cur le chéile” – meaning strength, with unity.

The Irish EU Presidency will focus on its efforts on enhancing the competitiveness of our European economy, safeguarding the values of our Union at home and abroad, and providing for the security of our citizens. These three thematic pillars of competitiveness, values and security are interlocking, and will guide the Government’s work as Presidency.

We will work intensively on proposals within each pillar, as well as on priorities, including our ongoing support for Ukraine and our global engagement. In an uncertain time, we will work to strengthen and stabilise the EU’s relationships with neighbours and with our partners across the world.

During this Presidency, Ireland will host about 270 meetings involving Ministers and officials from across Europe, including the largest high-level meeting in the history of the State, a meeting of the European Political Community.

The scale and complexity of our agenda will evidently be greater than in any of our previous Presidencies, and we know that, rightly, expectations are high.

That also applies to the agenda relating to development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

Ireland’s Presidency will support strategic level dialogue on thefuture of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

During our Presidency, I will host an informal Foreign Affairs Council on Development meeting in Dublin, at which I will work with our European partners to discuss the very considerable issues we face - considering the future of development cooperation, the enduring challenge of global poverty, and how the EU can forge a path forward together.

This conversation is vital now because it is in the interests of the EU to be a reliable and principled partner for the long term. As global stability weakens, reliability is a key strength. It will help us remain engaged in a rapidly changing world.

I have always made the point, development is not charity, it’s about doing the right thing, but it’s also an investment to target the issues at source. Food prices, energy security, irregular mass migration, climate change, conflict and political extremism all originate from fragility.

The primary objective of EU development policy, is the reduction and, in the long term,the eradication of poverty. This policy has been built on efforts targeted to eradicate poverty, reduce vulnerabilities and address inequalities. Development efforts must focus on poverty to reduce global and national inequalities, and foster stability and security.

Ireland’s Presidency will prioritise progress on our collective commitment to reaching the furthest behind, emphasising collaborative, forward-thinking discussion on reducing humanitarian need.

We will ensure that a strong focuson principled and needs-based humanitarian assistancein response to the most severe crises, including those in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Eastern DRC and the Great Lakes, and the Middle East. We will ensure that neglected crises receive the attention they need.

In addition to the FAC Development in Dublin, I will co-host a high-level conference on the Protection of Aid Workers, with Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

Pursuing agreement on the new EU multi-annual financial framework is an overarching priority for the Irish Presidency. At its core, the EU’s long-term budget is an expression of our priorities, and theGlobal Europe instrumentwill substantially shape the funding and direction of international development architecture from 2028.

We are committed to our chairing role, negotiating workable compromises for an ambitious EU Budget that will see the Union through the coming decade. We are very aware of the responsibility now to ensure the EU is ready to face the unpredictable and the uncertain, within a structured and reliable framework. We also see the importance of projecting the EU’s leadership role in the vital area of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance as between the Commission and Member States, we are now the largest development and humanitarian actor and provider of Official Development Assistance.

Ireland has always recognised gender equality and women’s empowerment as a fundamental human right and a strategic imperative. Advancing the rights and empowerment of all women and girls in society is foundational for global sustainable development, peace and security, and acts as a catalyst for economic growth and good governance.

Since being appointed Minister for State for International Development, I have had the opportunity to witness first-hand the importance of this work. During my first two visits to Africa, I had the pleasure of visiting Sierra Leone and Liberia, two of the most challenging countries where Irish Aid works. I witnessed a number of innovative programmes funded by Irish Aid in rural Sierra Leone, which emphasised the importance of our work to address gender equality, and promoted so many basic rights that we take for granted. In particular, I observed the importance of taking a survivor-centred approach to tackling gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence. For example, the Rainbo initiative, which I had the opportunity to visit while in Sierra Leone, supports over 50,000 young girls in their journey to healing from traumatic experiences through access to much needed health and recovery services.

As Presidency, Ireland will aim to shepherd an ambitious European agendaon gender equalityand the rights and empowerment of all women and girls, strengthening the Union’s role as a principled global actor.

Ireland is a long-standing champion of global efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition, priority issues firmly rooted in our own history. Food security and nutrition are inextricably linked to peace and stability, poverty reduction, and economic prosperity.

In the coming year, Ireland will continue to step up its international solidarity to advance global food and nutrition security. We are committed to our strong financial and political support to IFAD, the world’s largest investor in small holder farmers. Indeed, some of you will have heard IFAD President, Alvaro Lario, talk here at the IIEA just two weeks ago on the Middle East crisis and its implications for food security.

Our work will also continue on agriculture and food systems though partnering with other key agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme. This will be complemented by our support to agricultural research and innovation through the Consortium on International Agricultural Research and the Crop Trust, and to support African countries with the implementation of the African Union’s new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme.

Ireland continues to be a global leader in child nutrition. This year sees the start of the implementation of Ireland’s Nutrition for Growth commitment to provide €250 million annually over four years to address hunger and malnutrition globally.

Now in its third year, in partnership with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and Concern Worldwide, we continue to implement ahild wasting initiative across eleven countries in Africa. Earlier this year I visited Ethiopia where I witnessed first-hand the impacts of the Concern-implemented Hanaano component of the Initiative, and discussed with a local mothers’ group how they had been able to bring their children out of malnutrition through climate resilient livelihoods.

During our Presidency, at all levels, we will bring a focus to the need for collective action when it comes tofood security and nutrition.

Ireland will support discussions on Sustainable Food Systems –to identify short, medium and long-term investments the EU can make to advance global food and nutrition security.

We will highlight the role that the Global Gateway strategy can play ingenerating inclusive economic growth.

We must not forget the importance of using our voice within the EU to ensure that the gains we have made on important areas such as sexual and reproductive health and rights including child and maternal health. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to a gathering of the International Planned Parenthood Federation here in Dublin. It was challenging to hear first-hand how on the ground in many of the countries that they work in, we are seeing a regression. During our EU Presidency, we will ensure that we embed a rights based approach to health especially sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Ireland will work through our Presidency to continue to prioritise theGlobal Health agenda, facilitating discussions on the EU’s new Global Health Resilience Initiative. We will encourage reflection on the reforms needed to the global health architecture including on financing, support for a strong multilateral system, and enhanced co-ordination. The recent outbreak of Ebola in the DRC underlines more than ever the important role of International Health Regulations in ensuring global health security by promoting transparency, cooperation, and coordinated action.

Climate change, is having a significant impact across the development agenda. As COP31 will fall during Ireland’s Presidency, Ireland will be leading and co-ordinating the EU at the next COP, working to assist Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and fragile and conflicted-affected areas adapt to climate change.

Democratic values are under deliberate attack by actors who seek to undermine Europe's values at home as well as to denigrate Democracy's value in contributing to human development. Against this background, and in a context of tightening development budgets and a more explicit focus on mutually beneficial investments, geopolitical advantage and security, Ireland will use its Presidency to insist that Europe’s values remain at the centre of our development cooperation.

The evidence of our own work is clear: the development ambitions shared with our partners will not be achieved or sustained without respect for human rights, transparency, accountability and the rule of law. Democratic governance underpins inclusive growth, social cohesion and the trust that citizens place in their institutions.

What struck me on my recent trip to Malawi, and meeting with our Ambassadors to African countries, is the trust that Ireland has earned over more than 50 years of development cooperation. Our partners recognise that Ireland’s engagement is grounded in justice, human rights and the rule of law, and in a consistent commitment to inclusive institutions and civic space rather than narrow strategic returns. In this new era of partnerships explicitly framed around mutual interest, the key ingredient will be trust: trust between Europe and our partner countries, including those in Africa; trust between citizens and their governments, and between the public and private sectors; and trust that Europe’s values offer a reliable basis for long‑term, mutually beneficial cooperation.

The key to that trust is good governance: citizens who feel represented, decisions that are responsive to people’s needs, governments that are responsible for their citizens and can be held to account, and the consistent application of the rule of law.

We will therefore work to keep democratic resilience at the heart of Europe’s international partnerships, including through the 360 degree approach of Global Gateway and the framework set out in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, so that Europe’s offer is defined as much by our values as by the scale of our investments.

Yesterday, in the event with Dóchas, I set out how we will underline the importance of ensuring that EU policy and decision-making is informed by our people and civil society. To do this, we will seek to strengthen the EU’s democratic resilience through support for initiatives such as the European Democracy Shield and the EU Strategy for Civil Society.

I have seen first-hand the impact of Ireland’s long-term development programmes to help bring about positive change in the lives of people around the world.

I have witnessed the impact of life-saving humanitarian funding that is fast, and flexible, reaching those who need it most.

Where others have stepped back from their commitment to supporting those in need, our unwavering commitment continues, increasing our support for the furthest behind, increasing our budget for development cooperation including humanitarian assistance.

This is what we will bring into discussions around Development in our Presidency and our focus on our priorities of addressing the persistent challenge of extreme poverty, gender equality, food security and nutrition and global health

As I stated at the Dóchas event yesterday - Ireland will ensure these priorities are reflected across the high level events that we will host as part of our Presidency, but also through the chairing of a number of working parties at official level relating to development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

We know that there is a challenge ahead of us, that our programme is ambitious, and that eyes of Europe will be on Ireland as we assume responsibility as Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

But we know that we will deliver.

As a government, we are determined that our eighth Presidency will achieve results across the board.

I am looking forward to what will be a busy six months for Ireland, working together to ensure that this Presidency delivers for as many as possible.