Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome his recent White Paper publication and applaud his worthy and excellent new goals of reduced hunger and stronger resilience, sustainable development and inclusive economic growth, and better governance, human rights and accountability. I will put aside my speech because the three previous speakers have covered many of my points and we do not like repetition here in the Seanad. I will touch on a few areas and pose a few questions to the Minister that will, hopefully, provide some more discussion.

Could the Minister of State provide us with a breakdown of how much of the moneys spent through Irish Aid go directly to those most in need and what amounts are being spent on administration? Speaking from his experience, does the Minister of State feel the bigger countries in Europe, such as Spain and France, should contribute more money in aid? We have Greece, Spain and Portugal, but we have suffered a unique economic catastrophe of our own in this country. Last year Spain cut its aid by 39%. Let us look at Ireland as a small sole trader that almost went down in smoke but was saved by the banks and institutions, and is controlled by them now. To continue that analogy, we are borrowing €600 million and paying interest on it and giving it to Irish Aid. I applaud the Minister of State, his officials and the previous speakers, but all us Senators and the Deputies of the other House are meeting the people of Ireland every day.

We meet desperate people every day and we are faced with people committing suicide because they are so desperate about their circumstances. We also meet people with disabilities and illnesses but none of us can get the money to help them. I will not be popular saying this but it needs to be said. I disagree with one or two of the previous speakers. If they talk to fellow citizens over the weekend, they will find that they are not aware of the amount we allocate to Irish Aid. For example, some are not aware of the Ugandan story. I thank the Minister of State for discussing that issue. Hopefully, it was a once-off but the country and Malawi are far away. Thankfully, there are strong auditing procedures in place but we need to be careful. Is the Department collaborating with its counterparts in Norway and Denmark and sharing knowledge at the top level about how to strengthen risk management and auditing procedures on a futuristic basis?

Having read the Minister of State's report and various other commentaries, Africa is not doing bad financially. It is experiencing an annual economic growth rate of 5% but hunger is a major issue on the continent. We have incredible intelligence, knowledge and expertise in this country. I propose that we reduce the allocation of €600 million temporarily until we achieve economic stability but increase our sharing of our knowledge, technical brilliance and expertise.

What interest rate is the State paying on the €600 million that is being borrowed? A body of authors suggest this aid goes to propping up corrupt dictators. The Minister of State referred to our money being used to buy weapons of mass destruction or being taken fraudulently. In the Ugandan case, the country had just spent €600 million on fighter jets. I do not want us to continue to give money to countries that spend it on weapons of destruction. I do not mind giving intelligence and expertise. We are trying to get economies going, not support violence.

Are countries in receipt of long-term aid asked to meet targets to ensure they are making strides to improve their lot? I refer to accountability. I welcome the work the Minister of State is putting into this issue. Perhaps the Government parties should communicate more with the taxpayer and let them know they are spending money and borrowing on their behalf in order that this is transparent for the public because we are taking the hard pressed taxpayers' money and borrowing. The Minister of State cannot micromanage what is going on in Africa and elsewhere. I would like him to give us more detail and some comfort that there will be no more $3 million weddings while we give a state money and that what happened in Uganda will not happen again.