Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I agree with Deputy Deasy's comments about the very good work that has been carried out, but I repeat what I said last week at the Joint Committee on European Affairs to the effect that I cannot accept the suggestion that Irish Aid officials have been slow or not exemplary in the carrying out of their duties. Irish Aid has been described by the OECD as one of the most efficient and effective programmes in the entire world. Its programme has been described as "cutting edge" by the OECD and been praised for its flexibility. It is not slow or inflexible, but rather it is efficient and effective. It is not just us who are saying this, but rather the OECD, which has often been critical of this country.

The factual position in relation to the exact point Deputy Deasy raised is that Irish Aid has not received any funding application from the Niall Mellon Township Trust. Indeed, we are not in a position to receive such an application because we still await audited accounts, together with supporting financial statements setting out how €5 million of Irish Aid money has been accounted for.

Deputy Deasy will be aware from his experience of travelling to numerous countries and looking at our NGO projects that every funding agreement between Irish Aid and any organisation contains a very specific requirement on those who receive taxpayers' money to provide each year fully audited accounts together with supporting financial statements identifying exactly how the money has been spent. The financial reports should give a very clear and transparent picture of how taxpayers' money has been spent and Irish Aid is still awaiting these audited accounts and supporting financial statements before any application can be considered.

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