Ms Karen Jorgensen:

We find it useful and important to meet with parliaments when we go to partner countries. It is true that, in some cases, the parliaments are not very well informed, so, in a way, our meeting with them serves as capacity building for them because it highlights for them that they ought to know what aid flows are coming into the country. That is one aspect. In addition, we want them to take an interest in engaging with their own government about where aid is coming in and where the government is spending that aid.

In other countries, however, the parliamentarians are very well informed and engage quite extensively with us about the performance of the aid programme and, indeed, we hear their views, just as we like to hear the views of this committee's members with regard to Irish aid. We believe this is a very important way of promoting mutual accountability because, so often, we see that our members are concerned about accountability to their own parliaments, as they should be, but they should also be concerned about accountability at the partner country level, and about what aid flows are coming in so the public and parliament can know where the money is going.

The Deputy referred to fighting corruption. An important element of that is being fully transparent to the public, civil society and parliament about what aid is coming in, so they can ask the Government where the money has gone. We believe meeting with parliament can serve multiple purposes-----