Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if aid funding goes to government organisations or agencies in Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34087/08]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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Wherever it is feasible and effective to do so, Irish Aid is committed to working through existing national systems, so as to reinforce good governance and avoid undermining national capacity. This approach is recognised as best practice and is pursued by all those donors who have acceded to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, including Ireland.

No Irish Aid funding goes directly to the Government of Ethiopia via direct or general budget support. Rather, it goes through the dedicated distribution and delivery systems (health, education etc) which have been built up over many years. The funding that we do provide is ring-fenced for its intended purposes and is channelled to recipients using sectoral Ministries, or regional or local government channels. For example, Irish Aid supports the provision of basic services in health and education and also social "safety-nets" programmes which are vital to saving the lives and livelihoods of millions of Ethiopians.

Effective and responsible donors and NGOs must take account of local authorities and systems. For example, when we train teachers, we must use the training systems and institutions, colleges etc. that are in place nationally. It would be a total waste of money, and it would be unsustainable in the long term, if we were to try to create a parallel system. NGOs and voluntary organisations also work with local and national systems.

In 2007, €32m was allocated to Ethiopia through the bilateral country programme and a further €36m has been allocated for 2008. In addition, in 2007 Irish Aid provided over €7m, mostly for multi-annual funding to major Irish NGOs, but also to other civil society projects. A further €9.1m has been committed to date in 2008. In 2007 and 2008, €2.5m was allocated for humanitarian aid to Concern, Goal and the World Food programme in Ethiopia.