Peadar Tóibín has called on former Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to appear before the Finance Committee over revelations he gave an extra €10 million to the World Bank, where he has now taken up a new management role.
Donohoe, 51, quit Irish politics in November with immediate effect to become the managing director and chief knowledge officer at the World Bank. The former long-serving Fine Gael minister moved to New York for the overseas role in November.
The Irish Daily Mail reported over the weekend that Mr Donohoe provided an extra €10 million in funding for the World Bank. Documents obtained by the paper, it said, showed that the World Bank recommended a contribution of €131.4 million from Ireland from 2025 to 2028.
However, Mr Donohoe opted to provide them with €141.4 million on April 24 2025, despite the fact officials in the Finance Department also recommended significantly less.
Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín said on Monday that the revelation is potentially one of the most serious conflicts of interest he’s seen in his time in Leinster House.
His party now believes Donohoe should be brought before the Oireachtas Finance Committee over its decision to give the World Bank €10 million euro more than it asked for.
“I will be challenging Simon Harris on this in the Dáil on Tuesday,” said the Co Meath TD.
‘POTENTIALLY A SERIOUS CONFLICT OF INTERST’
Mr Tóibín says he has written to the Cathaoirleach of the Finance Committee to request that the former Minister be brought before the committee to discuss the “conflict of interest” of giving an extra €10 million to the World Bank before taking up a job with the organisation.
“When we seek funding for carers or for people with disabilities, we are told by the government that there is no magic money tree,” he said. “Yet Ministers are able to heap millions of euro more on world organisations that they seek to work for,” added Tóibín.
Speaking to Gript, the Aontú leader said: “There is potentially a serious conflict of interest here. That a former Minister for Finance would provide an extra €10million of funding to the World Bank over and above what they asked for, that he would provide a figure well in excess of what his own officials proposed, that he would propose a 33% increase in funds just 7 months before he landed a €600,000 job with the same organization is highly problematic.
“Pascal Donohoe has questions to answer as to why he acted in contravention of his own departmental officials. Why did he go over and above the World Bank’s request most especially in the same year that he would materially benefit from the World Bank.
“The government’s largess when it comes to the World Bank and other international causes verses their miserliness when it comes to families struggling in Ireland is also notable. When we seek funding for carers or for people with disabilities, we are told by the government that there is no magic money tree. Yet Minister are able to heap millions of euro more on world organizations that they seek to work for.”
FUNDING FOR ‘WORLD’S POOREST AND LEAST CREDITWORTHY COUNTRIES’
The money in question went to the International Development Association – one of the five Institutions that comprises the World Bank and provides grants and lends money on highly concessional terms to the world’s poorest and least creditworthy countries.
This contribution was part of a regular three-year funding cycle which will cover the period from mid-2025 to mid-2028.
Announcing the contribution in April, the Department of Finance said: “The Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe today (Thursday) announced that the government has approved his recommendation to provide over €140 million in financing for the World Bank’s International Development Association.”
Mr Donohoe said at the time: “As Minister for Finance and Ireland’s Governor for the World Bank, I am pleased to announce that the government has approved a contribution of €141.4 million to the World Bank’s International Development Association.
“Ireland has been a long-time supporter of the work of the World Bank and this contribution will further Ireland’s international development goals which focus on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals of allocating 0.7 per cent of GNI to Official Development Assistance by 2030 and reaching those furthest behind first,’ he added.
A decision on the funding for the World Bank was due to be made in November 2024, however it was delayed due to the general election. The final decision was not taken until April last year, seven months before Mr Donohoe resigned.
Per a draft business case for Ireland’s contribution, there were five options. These were to do nothing and maintain a contribution of €105.8m; provide €131.4m as recommended by the World Bank (an increase of 24 per cent); a “high-level” €141.4 option (33 per cent increase); or a “very high level” option of giving €158.9m (50 per cent increase.
Had Ireland chosen the last option, it would have made the State the second-highest contributor to the World Bank worldwide. In the end, the €141.4m option was chosen.
Mr Donohoe has not yet responded to requests for comment from numerous media outlets.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty described the revelation as “serious”.
Over the weekend, the party said the decision was “very unusual” and raised serious questions.
“It is vital that the public is given full transparency particularly as Paschal Donohoe went on to take up a €600,000 job with the bank just months later,” Mr Doherty said.