Mr. Michael Gaffey:

I thank Deputy Durkan for his question on parliament. As he will be aware from previous discussions with officials, Irish Aid is fully aware of the importance of providing absolute support for parliaments. Given that those who are best qualified to hold governments accountable are elected representatives, parliaments must be a vital part of our programme. We work with and support the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa, AWEPA, and other groups working in this area.

The role of the Ugandan Parliament is crucial. As Mr. Rogers noted, this can be seen in the reaction in Uganda where this issue has caused uproar among parliamentarians, especially those who represent northern Uganda, the intended destination of the relevant funding.

As part of the aid programme, for some years a group of donor countries has been providing support for what is known as the financial management and accountability programme, otherwise known by the acronym FINMAP. Under the programme, the donors work with institutions of government to build up accountability. Donors are providing $60 million in the current three year phase of the programme. The €1.3 million per annum Irish Aid has budgeted approximately for FINMAP is part of the money that has been suspended as it is aid that goes through government systems. Within the overall programme there is strong support for the Ugandan Auditor General's office, for which funding of some $15 million over the three-year period has been provided by the donors. In addition, well in excess of €1 million has been provided for building oversight and scrutiny in Parliament. This integral part of our programme, which works through the various systems, has been suspended. As a result, our assistance to the Office of the Auditor General, the Ugandan Parliament and some other aspects of the programme have also been suspended because we must await the outcome of the report.

Looking ahead to how Ireland engages with Uganda, the joint committee may wish to consider the nature of Irish Aid support to the country, what we support and how we support it and whether we should drop support to the Ugandan Parliament and Auditor General or find a way to support them while scrutinising the other ways in which we work.
A question was asked about funding to non-governmental organisations. Outside our programme budget of €32 million, we will provide approximately €5.5 million directly through NGOs, most of which is through our programme funding for the major Irish non-governmental organisations. For instance, we will provide €1.8 million to GOAL and €730,000 to Trócaire in Uganda. The scrutiny of this funding has been significantly strengthened as a result of the new results-based management system in place for funding NGOs. Under this system, the non-governmental organisations must set out in advance their programmes and the results they wish to achieve using Irish Aid funding and against which they can be measured annually. We have significantly strengthened management of NGO funding.

In recent weeks, representatives of the non-governmental organisations have made clear to Irish Aid and Ministers that they do not seek to become the main channel for funding for Irish aid through Uganda. They recognise that if one wishes to achieve sustainable change for poor people in Uganda, one must find a way to work through government systems, while also ensuring the funding in question is entirely safe.