Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 151: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the locations in Africa to which aid is being directed in 2009; the action taken to ensure that all such aid arrives to those for whom it was intended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5484/09]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that aid intended for African countries goes to those for whom it was intended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5486/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 153 together.

It is a matter of particular importance to the Government that the funding provided for our aid programme benefits the poorest and most vulnerable people of the countries in which we operate. The Government's development cooperation programme, which is implemented by Irish Aid, provides assistance to over ninety developing countries. The overarching objective of the programme is the reduction of global poverty and hunger. It has a particular focus on Africa, which has 34 of the world's least developed countries. Seven of the nine countries designated as Programme Countries for Irish Aid are in Africa: Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. We are committed to long term strategic assistance in partnership with the Governments and people of these countries.

Irish Aid funding is protected by rigorous monitoring, accounting and audit controls, which are in place in all countries where we provide development assistance. The objective is to ensure that funding is directed effectively to those areas most in need.

In the Programme Countries, strategies are developed in consultation with national Governments in support of their own poverty reduction strategies. These agreed strategies outline the programmes and projects which Irish Aid will support over a three to five year period. They contain monitoring frameworks with indicators and targets against which to measure improvements in basic services. The promotion of good governance is an essential element of all country strategies. Irish Aid works in cooperation with other international donors to strengthen public financial management systems and institutions of Government, such as the Auditor General function.

The monitoring of national programmes and projects is carried out in the first instance by national Auditors General, and, on an annual basis, by donors and civil society groups. In this process, particular attention is paid to progress on the numbers of people living below the poverty line and on improvements in access to basic health, education and water and sanitation.

In addition, Irish Aid has put in place rigorous accounting and audit controls. Programmes are regularly audited and evaluated by independent audit firms, by Irish Aid's own Evaluation and Audit Unit and by the independent Audit Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs, in order to ensure that funds are used for the purposes intended and in respect of clear outcomes, and that they represent value for money.

The results from our aid programme and from our cooperation with partners can be clearly demonstrated, in Africa and elsewhere. The incidence of extreme poverty is falling in a number of Programme Countries. In recent years, economic growth in Africa has been the highest in a generation. More children are at school than ever before. The context remains challenging, especially in the face of the international economic crisis, but real progress is being made.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 154: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that various African countries are likely to receive adequate aid to combat hunger in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5487/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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Hunger is one of the critical issues facing the world today as almost one billion people go to bed each evening without adequate food. This number is continuing to rise, as the impact of hunger is compounded by the global economic crisis. The first Millennium Development Goal, to reduce by half the proportion of those suffering from hunger, is not on target to be reached in Africa.

The eradication of hunger is a cornerstone of Ireland's development aid programme and a key component of the Government's foreign policy, as indicated by our establishment of the Hunger Task Force and acceptance of the thrust of its excellent Report. We are committed to combating hunger in Africa and throughout the world. I firmly believe that the seriousness of the hunger crisis behoves all of us in the developed and the developing world to increase our commitment to combating hunger, with both immediate and longer-term initiatives.

The UN Secretary General last April established a High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to address longer term food security issues. Ireland is committed to playing an active role in supporting the UN High Level Task Force in developing a future global partnership for agriculture and food security, and is providing financial support and expertise to the Task Force. In addition to this cooperation at an international level, in 2009, we will also allocate approximately €40 million towards increased agricultural productivity and long-term food-security measures in developing countries.

To address the immediate needs of the hungry, food assistance will comprise a significant element of Ireland's funding for hunger in 2009. Some €2.5 million has already been approved for the World Food Programme's activities in West Africa, Chad, Zimbabwe and Somalia. This is in addition to a total of €7 million disbursed to Common Humanitarian Funds in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Sudan. At the global level, Ireland is the seventh largest contributor to the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), with an initial 2009 contribution of €10 million already disbursed.

We will also continue to support our NGO partners in emergency food assistance interventions. To date in 2009, over €3.5 million has been allocated for NGO projects and programmes dealing specifically with food and nutrition assistance, or the promotion of food security in Africa. There are six years left to achieve the global goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015. Ireland will continue to play an important role in seeking to meet this challenge.