Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 58 together.

As Deputies will be aware, I was deeply concerned about the misappropriation of €4 million of Irish development funding in Uganda. I am committed to ensuring we learn from what has occurred in Uganda to further strengthen our systems of risk identification and financial management in Irish Aid and minimise the potential for any misuse of Irish taxpayer’s funds in the future. Ireland has always made it abundantly clear that we have no tolerance for fraud or any other form of financial irregularity in respect of our development programme. When details of the misappropriation came to light, the Tánaiste immediately suspended €16 million of Irish development assistance which was due to be channelled through Government of Uganda systems in 2012. An investigation was initiated into the misappropriation of funds by the Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda which was undertaken by a team from the evaluation and audit unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The report has been published and the recommendations are currently being implemented.

Deputies will be aware that the Government of Uganda has accepted full responsibility for the misappropriation of Irish development funds and full restitution of the funds has now taken place. I welcome this action which was brought about after intensive dialogue at a high level with the Ugandan Government.

Several steps have been taken as a result of the misappropriation to ensure the financial and risk management systems used to oversee and manage Ireland’s aid programme throughout the world are strong and robust enough to operate successfully in very challenging environments.

The Ambassadors in the overseas Missions that manage Irish Aid bilateral programmes have undertaken a full review of their management and risk assessment systems to ensure that any weaknesses are highlighted and that appropriate measures are taken to address these. In addition, last month, the Secretary General of the Department held a meeting in Zambia with all of the heads of mission of embassies that manage aid programmes, to underline the importance of managing risk around Irish development funding and to highlight the importance of strong vigilance in the management of aid programmes.

The evaluation and audit unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will also continue to build on the important work it has undertaken this year since the misappropriation in Uganda. The unit has begun an intensive programme of assessments of all our programme countries examining the financial controls and risk management systems in place and ensuring that these systems are as strong as possible. This work is expected to be completed by the summer and the unit will submit a report when these assessments are concluded I am committed to the full implementation of any recommendations the unit may have as a result of the work it has undertaken.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is also seeking sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to appoint a chief financial officer as subsequently recommended by the Committee on Public Accounts. I believe the appointment of a professionally qualified CFO will further strengthen our financial controls, not just within the aid programme but also across the Department.

In regard to Uganda specifically, the capacity of the embassy in the area of financial management and audit has recently been strengthened. In addition, the evaluation and audit unit will continue with its regular monitoring visits to Uganda, the next of which will take place in early April. The embassy is continuing to work closely with the Auditor General of Uganda and has committed to continuing support for his important work.

All of the efforts being made to strengthen financial oversight of the aid programme are to ensure that the valuable contribution made by Ireland towards improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world can continue, while at the same time providing strong assurance and accountability to the Irish taxpayer.

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