Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 136: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he, or an agency under his auspices, have audited the overseas non-governmental agencies that are in receipt of assistance from the State's overseas aid budget in the past 12 months; if they have requested information on the salaries being paid to chief executives and other senior officials within the NGOs; if he detected if bonuses or increments were paid to officials; the level of increase or bonus given; if he is satisfied that payments being made to certain employees of NGOs is in keeping with policy on remuneration in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11340/12]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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All Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which receive funding from Irish Aid to support their work in developing countries are required to submit annual, externally audited accounts, and to publish these audited accounts on their organisational website. These audited accounts include details on the salary levels paid to senior staff, including chief executives and senior officials. As part of the external audit process in each organisation, the Board of Directors signs off on the audited accounts, including approval of remuneration for chief executives and other senior officials. Irish Aid places a very high priority on ensuring that sound corporate governance policies, including the effective functioning of the Board of Directors, are in place in organisations which receive public funds for their development work. Three audits of major Irish NGOs have been undertaken in the past twelve months by the Evaluation and Audit Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which involved in-depth examination of the strength of the financial systems and corporate governance function. Where shortcomings are identified, the Department works closely with the organisations concerned to strengthen the relevant function in line with independent best practice standards.

In addition to this audit work, all applications for Irish Aid funding from NGOs undergo detailed appraisal based on a standard set of criteria which include corporate governance, organisational efficiency and cost effectiveness. This appraisal and the related audit information are central to funding decisions.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 137: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a list of those countries that receive direct payment from him as part of its overseas aid development programme; if he, or an agency under his auspices, have audited or received reports of the national expenditure broken down by heading of these individual countries; if his attention has been drawn to the percentage and amount of national expenditure that these countries spend on defence in terms of capital and current expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11341/12]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The overarching objective of Ireland's aid programme is to contribute to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in the world. To ensure that our assistance is effectively delivered to those most in need in developing countries, we work in partnership with Governments, local communities, NGOs, and key multilateral partners such as the United Nations and European Union. Our aid programme is strongly concentrated on some of the poorest countries and communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

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.

Working with and through government systems in our Programme Countries is essential if the improvements put in place are to be sustainable and the primary responsibility for promoting and fostering development rests with governments. Our partnerships with these countries place obligations on the recipient governments, including commitments to democratic principles, respect for human rights and the rule of law and a willingness to combat corruption, and while working with and through governments, it is important to ensure that these governments are accountable both to their populations and donors. Towards this end, Irish Aid programmes are evaluated and audited by independent experts as well as by Irish Aid's Evaluation and Audit Unit. The Evaluation and Audit Unit receive and review the annual audited government accounts, prepared by national equivalents of the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General, for each of our Programme Countries.

As part of our ongoing engagement in our Programme Countries we regularly monitor overall budgets, including defence spending. There are strict controls in place to ensure that Irish funds are spent only as agreed and are carefully tracked. This is done in various ways - through our own detailed auditing systems, through independent auditing arrangements and in conjunction with other donor partners. Ireland also works in our Programme Countries to support programmes which build the capacity of national budget processes and strengthen public financial management systems and institutions of Government, such as the Auditor General function and relevant Parliamentary Committees, in order to eliminate waste and any misuse of funds.

Ireland will continue to ensure that our funding is directed to those areas most in need, is used for the purposes intended and represents the best value for money. We are committed to delivering on our commitment that all aid funded by the taxpayer will benefit the poorest and most vulnerable in the countries where we are working.