Foreign Aid
Ireland's aid program was founded in 1974, and in 2006 its budget amounted to €734 million. The government has set a target of reaching the Millennium Development Goal of 0.7% of Gross National Product in aid by 2012, a target which is projected to amount to €1.5 billion based on current GNP growth. Irish development aid is concentrated on eight priority countries: Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, Vietnam and East Timor. in 2006, Malawi was announced as the ninth priority country, with a tenth country to follow. Aid has had to be reduced because of the 2008–2011 Irish financial crisis.
As of 2012, Joe Costello is the Minister of State for Trade and Development at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Read more about this topic: Foreign Relations Of The Republic Of Ireland
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