Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for his kind remarks. With his permission, I will deal with the questions that were asked before I make my statement, as I am conscious that some people need to move on to deal with other issues.

On the Palestinian question, the Minister mentioned monetary commitments of €10 million, but there is a further funding commitment in 2015 to the bilateral co-operation unit, for which €4.2 million will be provided by Irish Aid. This will support the Palestinian Authority's education development strategic plan and civil society organisations. Effectively, this is about promoting human rights and ensuring funding is focused on educational needs. We are confident that there is no corruption in regard to that fund because, by virtue of the fact that the bilateral arrangement is in place, we have people on the ground in Ramallah and we closely monitor the situation there.

In regard to Uganda, when the issue there arose in 2012 at the office of the Prime Minister, Ireland acted expeditiously to suspend funding of over €16 million in development assistance. We compiled a full report, completed in 2014, through our Department's evaluation and audit unit. We are satisfied that the funds have been recovered and steps have been taken to ensure proper management systems are put in place for the future.