Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there has been any enhancement of control measures in terms of the disbursement of Irish aid in view of the misappropriation of €4 million in aid to Uganda in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15418/13]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he has taken to enhance auditing and spending review in Uganda following last year’s misappropriation of Irish overseas development aid funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15581/13]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I welcome the recent progress made on a durable solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, with the conclusion in Addis Ababa on 24 February of the Peace, Security and Co-operation Framework Agreement for the DRC and the region.

The conflict has been allowed to continue for too long. It has taken millions of lives and caused untold human suffering. It is now vital to build on the framework agreed in Addis Ababa, and I warmly welcome the decision of the United Nations Secretary General to appoint the former President of Ireland Mary Robinson as special envoy to the region. She can count on the full support of the Government and of the EU in her work.

In the United Nations Secretary General’s words, a lasting solution must be anchored in the political will of the leaders of all countries in the region. It must address the structural causes of instability in the DRC itself. It must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all-----

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State is reading the wrong reply.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are on Question No. 7.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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No. 5?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, question No. 7.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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My apologies.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Somebody was listening.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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It is an interesting reply. It is coming up shortly.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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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.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of Sate for his comprehensive reply. The suspension of assistance to Uganda is over. Has the programme resumed? How was the repayment of the €4 million expropriated from the €16 million made? Was it taken back in a single payment or did we discount it off this year's programme? How was that handled?

I welcome what the Minister of State said about the invigilation of the Irish Aid programme. I note that he says we will have a report by summer. Have warning lights been flashing in any other countries? Has the Minister of State heard any alarming reports following the investigation of the programme's finances? I welcome the appointment of the chief financial officer. That seems to be an obvious way to go to protect the investment we are making and the support we give to those countries.

I understand the Minister of State recently visited Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique partly to see what precisely Irish Aid is doing.

Will the Minister of State give the House his own personal observations on the performance of Irish Aid and how taxpayers' moneys go to the people on the front line, not to the elites, in the countries in question?

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I have been to Tanzania and Mozambique which has given me the opportunity to see quite a number of our programmes. It is important to go out into the field to see how they operate. We have a very high quality list of programmes, particularly in the areas of health, education and agriculture. Our track record is regarded as second to none in the OECD assessment of overseas development programmes.

The recommendation of the Committee of Public Accounts was to establish a post of chief financial officer. Appointing one to deal with our various programmes is being looked at and I hope the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform will be prepared to allow the appointment to take place.

The €4 million siphoned off in Uganda was paid back fully before Christmas and an investigation into the matter continues. Funding was taken back into the Irish account. The moneys will be used for the purposes intended to assist the poorest in Uganda and will not go through the Ugandan Government offices but through the Irish bilateral programmes and non-governmental organisations. We are anxious that the people of Uganda will not suffer as a result of what happened owing to the misappropriation of a certain amount of funding from the Irish Government, as well as from the Governments of Norway and Denmark. We are anxious to ensure lessons are learned.

The audit and evaluation unit visited the area in question to robustly deal with the issues involved before the other countries affected did so. We hope this lesson will be applied to all other missions. As I stated, our embassy staff met the Secretary General to discuss future safeguards. The Committee of Public Accounts' evaluation, with my visit to Mozambique, will be taken into consideration in considering the future direction of overseas development funding.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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It was the Department's audit committee that recommended the appointment of a chief risk officer and a head of finance. The Minister of State said he hoped the Minister would look at the appointment of a chief financial officer. However, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade told us several months ago that this appointment process had already been set in train and that the necessary approval had been received from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Minister of State has not given us the impression that there is urgency attached to the appointment of a chief financial officer. It is a matter which should be dealt with as such.

At what stage is the proposed appointment of the chief risk officer, as recommended by the Department's audit committee? As Deputy Thomas P. Broughan said, there is a great need to assure the public that continues to be very generous, despite the many pressures on it, in its support of overseas development aid. It is important the message is sent that the investment of the taxpayer in overseas development programmes has been successful. We have heard of the great improvements the programmes have made to primary education and health facilities, etc. We all recognise much more needs to be done, but we need the message to be sent to the public that every cent is being put to good use and reaching the intended beneficiaries.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Many of us are very supportive of the work Irish Aid does in Uganda and of the life-changing improvements its work has brought to the Ugandan people, especially in the areas of education, health care and agriculture. This work is important to some of the most vulnerable people in the world. The Minister of State referred to producing the report by the summer. Is he referring to our summer? If so, we could be waiting some time by the look of the weather outside? Can the Minister of State give an indication of when it will be produced?

Many people are concerned about the impact of the suspension. Is anything happening to front-line services or to those working on the ground? The Minister of State indicated that the funding is no longer being channelled through the Ugandan Government but through the relevant NGO. In what way has this impacted on the delivery? Irish Aid has put several proposals to the Ugandan Government. Have these been acted on?

There has been an interesting development for parliamentarians. A group from this House has come together to consider options for various countries in Africa. Does the Minister of State believe that twinning and the development of other interests of Members with their counterparts in the DRC and other countries would be a positive development?

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The issue is being dealt with and has been dealt with urgently. The first thing I stated was that the Irish contribution was suspended by the Tánaiste immediately. A full investigation has taken place. There are matters before the courts. Several people will be prosecuted on matters relating to this issue in Uganda.

I emphasise that the finding was made by the Uganda Auditor General, an office that has been funded by Ireland to ensure that it is efficient. It has been efficient at the highest level, including the Prime Minister's Department. The work we have done to improve the quality of audit and evaluation within the country at the level of the Auditor General has been very effective.

We have a strong audit and evaluation network within a unit in the Department. In addition, all Irish overseas development aid funding is audited externally. These measures are in place and there is a strong audit capacity in place already.

We have taken on board what has been said by the Committee of Public Accounts on the matter and we have taken on board the lessons learned from Uganda. Now, a full audit is under way of all our programme countries in Africa. This is the audit which will be completed by the summer. There will be a report on the situation in each of the programme countries.

I realise Deputy Crowe is involved in the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa, AWEPA. It is valuable that parliamentarians from Ireland bring their skills to bear in parliaments in countries in Africa where, often, democracy is more fragile that it is here. This is especially valuable in terms of good governance and good practices. It would be useful if more of our parliamentarians twined with various committees and so on or visited the governments and parliamentarians there and assisted in that regard.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to ask two brief questions.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry. We are way over time. I used up all the time because there was a long reply.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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We were not given the reply.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I will give you a comprehensive reply.