Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2012 the overall budget was €629 million and NGOs received approximately €159 million. Given the scale of the money involved it is essential we do not leave any scope for an information vacuum to develop and NGOs need to be encouraged to publish as much information as possible. I welcome the Minister of State's reply in this context. As a percentage of our overall gross national income we give more than France, Germany and Austria none of which are bailout countries. Given the economic collapse and meltdown which happened we need to be accountable for every cent that goes out of here. I do not dispute the good work done by Irish Aid or NGOs but given what we have seen in the charities sector in recent months we must ensure every stone is turned over to ensure there are no top-ups or CEO payments in excess of the salaries of the Ministers of State or the Tánaiste. There needs to be absolute clarity on this and the sooner the NGOs can provide it, the better.

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