Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the progress of the public consultation on the formulation of a White Paper on Official Development Aid. [18639/05]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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At the end of last year, the Government announced that a White Paper will be published on the future of Ireland's official development assistance programme. This will be the first ever White Paper on the programme and it comes at a time when the resources allocated to development co-operation have reached very substantial levels.

As a first step in the preparation of the White Paper, the Department of Foreign Affairs is engaged in a wide-ranging process of public consultation. At the beginning of this year, advertisements were placed in the national press seeking written submissions on the future of the programme. The deadline for the receipt of submissions was initially set for 30 April, but extensions have been granted to those organisations and individuals which have sought them and submissions are still being received. Complementary to the written submissions, I have also undertaken a series of public meetings in different locations around the country. To date, meetings have taken place in the following locations: 13 April — Limerick, 27 April — Waterford, 3 May — Athlone, 4 May — Galway, 10 May — Cork, 17 May — Tralee, and 24 May — Dublin. I plan to hold further meetings in a number of other locations in the coming months. Details of the dates and locations of these meetings will be announced when arrangements are finalised. I have attended all the public meetings to date to listen to the views offered from the floor and to answer questions. The meetings have been well attended, bringing together experts and non-experts for informed, lively and useful discussion. At all meetings, I have found that there is a genuine appreciation that this process of public consultation is being undertaken.

Overall, the process of public consultation is proving to be very successful and I will be happy to report further to this House in the future, as the process continues.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 56: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that aid to Africa goes directly to those for whom it was intended and that aid is not used as an indirect subsidy by some less than democratic administrations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18637/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 167: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that development aid to Africa is reaching those for whom it was intended; if action has been taken in order that such aid is not appropriated by administrations or regimes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18855/05]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 167 together.

Issues at the heart of effective delivery of assistance to poor people in least developed countries include clear objectives, a well-articulated strategy for delivery and good oversight and accountability. As the Deputy will be aware, the central objectives of the Irish programme of development co-operation continue to be the reduction of poverty and the promotion of sustainable development. Meeting the basic human needs of some of the poorest people in the world and improving their access to food, water, health services, sanitation, education and employment are key goals of the bilateral development programme, of our interaction with multilateral institutions and of our engagement with and through NGOs.

The main geographical focus of the bilateral programme is sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region in the world. Within the framework of three-year country strategy papers, CSPs, Development Co-operation Ireland provides long-term development assistance to seven programme countries, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Uganda and Zambia, as well as South Africa. In line with other donors, we operate in partnership with the Governments of these countries and agree our strategies with them to ensure that our interventions respond effectively to their development needs. We help to build up the capacity of these Governments to manage their own affairs, which in turn strengthens their sense of ownership of the whole development process. This more integrated and harmonised approach, focused on assisting poor countries to do things for themselves, is a major advance on the previous project-type engagement and has delivered positive and substantive results.

It is of critical importance, when operating in an environment of dire poverty and the corruption frequently associated with it, to have robust processes for oversight and accountability in relation to the funding provided. The Development Co-operation Ireland programme provides this through a rigorous system of evaluation, monitoring and audit. All accounts and expenditure are audited. There is a strong, comprehensive monitoring process, which acts as a quality control on the programme. The evaluation approach allows for a forensic examination of interventions to measure effectiveness and identify lessons learned.

I am satisfied that the auditing, evaluation and monitoring systems which we have in place ensure that the funding provided under our programme goes only to those for whom it is intended.