The Department of Foreign Affairs' development aid budget is to increase by 55 per cent, to €372 million (£293 million) next year, according to the estimates.
A spokesman for the Department said the investment would enable it to achieve an interim overseas aid target of 0.45 per cent of GNP in 2002. The Government has committed itself to continuing to boost foreign aid, in order to meet a United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GNP by 2007.
Aid agencies, including Goal and Concern, welcomed yesterday's announcement.
The biggest increase is under the bracket of "bilateral and other aid", which is set to rise by 61 per cent to €278 million next year.
Contributions to the UN and other development agencies are to rise by 54 per cent to €38 million, emergency humanitarian assistance by 38 per cent to €23 million, payments to international funds for the benefit of development countries by 22 per cent to €14 million, and funding to the Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO) by 14 per cent to €16 million. An additional €3.2 million has been ear-marked for the first time for Eastern Europe.
As to where the other money will be spent, the Government has indicated it plans to allocate at least €34 million next year to HIV/AIDS programmes.
The allocation to North-South and Anglo-Irish co-operation is to remain static at €2.5 million. Grant aid to the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, however, will drop dramatically from €2.9 million to €156,000.
A Department spokesman said he understood this was due to a winding down of the programme itself, to make way for a new Northern Ireland peace fund.
