Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Neale Richmond has said the impact of the US drastically cutting its aid to countries has been “devastating”.

It comes as Ireland provided €807 million in Overseas Development Aid last year, making it the eighth highest country in the world for delivering aid to countries in need.

Last year’s figure marks an increase of €36m from the year before. The figure is the highest ever allocation in the history of the Irish Aid programme.

Mr Richmond said the overall international aid sector is down 23%.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Richmond said that last year, Ireland and Spain “were the only EU countries to increase their aid budget”.

“Demark maintained theirs. Everyone else cut their aid budget,” he added.

He said HIV/AIDS infections have decreased every year for the last quarter of a century. However, last year infections were up, the minister said.

“The rates of child marriage went up, the rates of female genital mutilation went up. These aid cuts are killing people and destroying the most vulnerable parts of the world,” he said.

He said this impact is having a “huge follow-on impact”, not just in the poorest countries but in Europe also.

Mr Richmond said Mali in Africa is sending the largest pattern of mass migration to Europe, adding “these aid cuts have consequences”.

He said lobbying other EU countries at a meeting of aid ministers in Dublin Castle as part of Ireland’s EU Presidency is a “top priority”. He said he has been calling for aid budgets to be ringfenced within the EU.

Mr Richmond said “we have seen the United States completely end their programmes overnight. This is devastating”.

Whether or not Ireland will increase its aid budget for next year is currently under negotiations, and will be revealed on 6 October in the budget.

Ireland’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) amounted to €1.88 billion last year, representing 0.44% of Gross National Income (GNI) – but the United Nations target is 0.7%.

Mr Richmond said the new United Nations target is not unachievable but requires political will, and has made a submission to Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.

He said that he hopes Taoiseach Micheál Martin raises the issue of US aid with Donald Trump when arrives in Ireland next week.