Written answers

Thursday, 2 June 2005

Department of Foreign Affairs

Overseas Development Aid

5:00 pm

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 85: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures he has taken to increase the Department's capacity to account for the spending of ODA by aid agencies, in order that further insinuations that money is being misspent by aid agencies are avoided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18647/05]

Photo of Conor LenihanConor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The first priority of Development Co-operation Ireland is long-term sustainable development with the objective of poverty reduction through meeting basic needs and building up local capacity. At the same time, there is an emphasis that the assistance provided is both targeted and cost-effective. Projects and programmes are subject to regular review and evaluation from sectoral experts within the development co-operation directorate and by external consultants. They are also subject to review by the development assistance committee of the OECD.

There is a range of management and accounting controls in place throughout the development aid programme. The aid programme has an active evaluation and audit unit, which carries out an annual series of evaluations of various programmes and projects. Within the various schemes through which the Department funds aid agencies, provision is made for evaluation and audit. The multi-annual programme scheme, MAPS, is the most significant funding scheme in terms of the amount of funds available to aid agencies. MAPS is an arrangement established with a small number of Development Co-operation Ireland's core NGO partners, with the aim of strengthening strategic and programmatic co-operation, and providing a more flexible and predictable funding framework for the NGOs to operate.

A number of major exercises have been conducted in the past in relation to civil society and a key strategic evaluation of the MAPS scheme will be concluded before the end of the year. In addition to the management systems and requirements agreed between the aid agencies and Development Co-operation Ireland, there are a number of domestic requirements for aid agencies registered in most countries. In many cases, this includes requirements under the relevant Companies Acts, including lodging annual audits with the registrar of companies and publishing annual reports. The proposed charities legislation in Ireland should, while providing an enabling environment for charities, further strengthen the oversight of aid agencies.

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