Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their attendance and for the impressive presentation. I join with others in commending them on the positive work being done by Irish Aid. It is very good to hear about the developments that are going on, the commitment to untied aid in particular and the acknowledgement of links with climate change and development. It is welcome also to hear an update on the kind of work that is being done in terms of digital development. I have some familiarity with the work of Camara, a great small Irish organisation that is doing a lot on that front.

I have three specific questions. The first is on the 0.7% target of spending on ODA. Do the witnesses see us reaching that target by 2025? I have met with Dochas, the association of international development NGOs here, and I am aware it has briefed many of us on the committee. It has made a budget submission looking for a multi-annual plan at Government level setting out how we can reach that target and committing again to reaching it. Has there been progress on that and will we see that next week in particular?

The second question is a related one in terms of the issue of multi-annual spend. I recently spoke at a gathering of fund-raisers for development NGOs under the Ask Direct umbrella and I heard from them their understandable frustration at the requirement by many people who donate. That would include organisations like Irish Aid, which is working through partner NGOs. They were frustrated about the quarterly measurable results. Everyone understands we have to have quarterly measurable results but the witnesses, particularly Mr. de Búrca, alluded to the fact that many development programmes now are slow burn, for example, when we are spending on judiciary programmes, which Trinity law school has a history of running, in some African countries like Tanzania, which I have visited with our programme, and South Africa.

These are slow-burn programmes and they are very important to developing the rule of law and governance in countries like Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana, where I have also been. There is not a very immediate and tangible result, which can be difficult for organisations. How could that be addressed? The witnesses indicated the funding method is about funding a number of organisations on a multi-annual basis and others on an annual basis to reach a set of agreed goals. How is that squared with the longer term development programmes where we are trying to achieve sustainable development? Ethiopia is another good example, and we heard about water management systems put in place at the time of the famine. These are slower burning programmes but very important in terms of famine prevention and prevention of humanitarian crises. I wonder how Irish Aid can manage that challenge and how we can assist as a committee in supporting that work. I see it as important to move towards greater multi-annual planning.

How does Irish Aid manage relationships with partner organisations here, particularly where there are governance issues? For example, we know there is a planned merger being spoken about between two agencies here. How is this managed when Irish Aid is linking with organisations working directly in developing countries?

I have a follow-up on the Libyan matter, which was raised by Deputy Crowe. I met representatives of Médecins sans Frontières and I know they raised directly with us the appalling conditions experienced by people being held in detention centres in Libya. I know they are seeking a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, about that. I express support for that as it is very important for us to see what we can do from an Irish Government perspective and from within the European Union to try to address those conditions. There are many concerns in particular about a lack of oversight of the detention centres that are seemingly being run on a very ad hocbasis by private entities and individuals in Libya. That is where the abuses are ongoing.