Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-13
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

My understanding is the FOI was in respect of the then Department of Foreign Affairs. My understanding now from preparing this note is this. The finance officials sent this information to me when I requested it. The Minister for Finance agreed to €141.4 million, classified as "the low option". The proposal was then approved by Cabinet and the business case is to be released in full under FOI.
IDA negotiations are conducted by officials, not ministers, across all donor countries. Ireland's negotiations were handled by Department of Finance officials. A senior official acts as Ireland's IDA deputy on behalf of the Minister for Finance. Ministers do not participate directly, as per World Bank procedures. The final contribution decision is made by the Minister for Finance on official advice and is approved by Cabinet. Former Deputy Paschal Donohoe became Minister for Finance on 23 January.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-13