Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of the overseas aid budget that was spent in each of the programme countries in 2009; the amount that will be spent in each of these countries in 2010 following the cuts announced in budget 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7178/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Through the overseas aid programme the Government provides assistance to over ninety countries worldwide. Nine have been designated as Programme Countries for Irish Aid, where we have a commitment to long term strategic assistance. These are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.

In 2009, direct programme funding of €198 million was provided to these countries under the bilateral aid programme. The breakdown by Programme Country was as follows: - €27.84 million was provided in Ethiopia. - €11.42 million was provided in Lesotho. - €8.88 million was provided in Malawi. - €40.5 million was provided in Mozambique. - €33.5 million was provided in Tanzania. - €3.42 million was provided in Timor Leste. - €35.5 million was provided in Uganda. - €13.75 million was provided in Vietnam. - €23.21 million was provided in Zambia.

The Government channels additional funding to the Programme Countries in response to emergencies and humanitarian disasters, as necessary. Significant funding is also provided each year for the activities and programmes of development Non-Governmental Organisations, and through contributions to UN and other international agencies. In the case of Timor Leste, additional funding is allocated for conflict resolution activities.

For 2010, the Government has provided an overall allocation for Official Development Assistance (ODA) of €671 million. This represents a relatively small reduction of €25 million on the allocation for 2009, and ensures that Ireland will remain one of the most generous donors internationally, on a per capita basis. Detailed allocations across the aid programme are now under consideration, and the figures will be included in the Revised Estimates Volume, to be published by the Department of Finance at the end of February. I expect that the direct programme budgets for Irish Aid's priority countries will be broadly in line with the 2009 allocations, although there will be some relatively small reductions. We will ensure our overall commitments to our nine Programme Countries are met.

The people of Ireland can be proud that we are delivering an internationally recognised aid programme which is sharply focused on the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger in some of the poorest countries, especially in Africa. I can assure the House that the standards achieved by the programme will be maintained in 2010 and subsequent years.