Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is most important in updating the development goals post-2015, which is incorporated in what Dr. O'Neill has told us, to have learned from the experiences of the past number of years and to put that to good effect. It is also hugely important that there is accountability and that the ways and means are found to ensure international aid can find a way whereby the opportunities for interfering with the free flow of aid to the people for whom it is intended are limited. The fewer the opportunities, the greater the efficiency and impact. If the flow of aid is not effective, then at times of economic stress, public confidence in the system is liable to wane and that can be damaging. The threat of fraud is greater in times of economic distress nationally and internationally, both from the point of view of the donor countries in terms of value for money and the recipients countries in terms of the temptation that might be there in certain circumstances.