Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 45: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views that while the principles contained in the White Paper on Irish Aid remain valid, greater transparency and public discussion could lead to stronger adherence to these principles, and hence, to stronger results for poor persons around the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27321/11]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Public support and engagement are essential for the successful delivery of the Government's aid programme which is managed by Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The principles that guide the programme are set out in the White Paper on Irish Aid. Transparency and public ownership are central. They ensure our assistance delivers clear results in the lives of poor people and communities and makes a practical contribution to the fight against global poverty and hunger. They ensure a focus on the poorest communities in some of the world's poorest countries, the building of strong partnerships, and effective and efficient use of resources. That is why Ireland is recognised internationally as a leader in making aid more effective.

The oversight provided by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Committee of Public Accounts is extremely important in this regard, as is the role played by the independent Irish Aid expert advisory group. Irish Aid has in place comprehensive systems of appraisal, monitoring, audit and evaluation to ensure funds are spent effectively and benefit the most vulnerable people.

It is essential that the public can engage actively with the aid programme and have easy access to clear information on its priorities and programmes. The Irish Aid annual report which I launched recently at the Irish Aid volunteering and information centre provides full details on the programme's activities and expenditure and the practical results being achieved.

We are undertaking a review of the White Paper on Irish Aid. This will involve wide consultation with the public and interested organisations at home and in our partner countries. I look forward to strong public participation in this process which will result in a clear set of priorities for the future direction of the programme.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I understand the Government intends to engage in public consultation on the White Paper on Irish Aid in the first quarter of 2012. In these times when so many of our people are struggling to cope with the austerity measures more than ever we need to demonstrate that Irish Aid is effective in getting aid to those who need it the most. This is a very important area for Ireland, one in which we have an extremely strong international reputation. We inherit a very honourable legacy which we need to protect. We need to maintain this and ensure we meet the millennium development goal of achieving a figure of 0.7% of GDP by 2015 which will be a big project ahead. AWEPA has referred to the issue of parliamentary oversight in the donor and recipient countries to ensure there is full parliamentary oversight of the money from when it is donated to when it is spent. The money can clearly be tracked all the way through. Does the Minister of State envisage parliaments having a critical role in showing that the money is getting to those who need it most?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The public consultation process will mainly take place in the early part of next year. I would certainly welcome any suggestions on how we can make sure the process is as inclusive as possible. If there are any suggestions from Deputies on the other side of the House, we would be very glad to take them on board, because we want to make sure this engages the Irish public. The Deputy is right. It is a lot of money at a time of austerity in this country, so we want to make sure people know exactly how the money is spent.

In respect of the Deputy's suggestion on AWEPA and parliamentary oversight, I presume he is talking about parliamentary oversight within our programme countries.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I am referring to both donor and programme countries.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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We obviously support the concept fully and I would be happy to engage with our partner countries to ensure this. We already provide support for the strengthening of parliamentary systems and the various other civil society systems in our programme countries to ensure there is public participation. I would be happy to strengthen that in whatever way we can, including parliamentary oversight, and we would be happy to engage with our partner countries in that area.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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We had the opportunity last week to engage with the Minister of State on the committee, and then with her colleagues Mr. Michael Gaffey at the AWEPA meeting. Is there room for conditionality on aid? This would mean the programme countries clearly meet acceptable international criteria on human rights. We are playing an important and constructive role in aid for Malawi, but there are significant concerns about human rights in that country at the moment. That is just one of many examples I could give. Does the Minister of State agree that we need conditionality?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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We raise human rights issues constantly with our partner countries, either through Irish Aid officials or through Ministers and Ministers of State who visit, including myself. We will continue to do that. If we were to withdraw all our funding from a particular country due to human rights issues, then we would be depriving the poorest of the poor people in those countries. We need to make sure we know exactly where our money is going and if necessary, shift it into particular areas to ensure we have full oversight. We are constantly watching how we spend it. A big part of this is to ensure that how the money is spent is absolutely transparent. As we have a lot of influence in these countries due to our development programmes, we genuinely can influence change for the better and we have done this in many human rights areas. However, I would not be in favour of suddenly pulling out of a country completely, because that has a devastating effect on the most vulnerable people.